Cricket News By TODAYLIVESCORE.INFO - Live Cricket Score - India vs New Zealand, 2nd Test, Day 3, Mumbai. Can the makeshift opening duo continue strongly?
Can the makeshift opening duo continue strongly?
TEA: New Zealand 13/1, trail by 527
An early Tea has been taken with the Spider-cam breaking down in the middle. But India have struck even in that short period of play. A big ask ahead of New Zealand still.
Ashwin strikes early
Latham is done in by one that went straight on from round the wicket. He's trapped plumb in front, but decides to review without luck.
Target 540 for NZ as India declare
14/225 for Ajaz! He's picked up the best-ever match haul against India in Test cricket! The final wicket is a caught and bowled to get rid of Jayant Yadav after which India declare. Axar remains unbeaten on 41 but now NZ will have about 40 minutes before the Tea break.
Lead ticks past 500
All the India batters are coming out with a lot of aggression, that declaration may not be too far away now. India lose Saha in the process of these big hits, but they're continuing to bat on even as Ravindra gets his third.
Rachin gets Kohli!
It comes off a short ball, Kohli had lunged out and tries to cut it on the offside but gets an inside edge onto the stumps. He falls for 35.
Not for long…No 13 for Ajaz!
Shreyas Iyer hit Somerville for a couple of big sixes, but he's beaten twice by Ajaz and one of it also results in a stumping as he drags his foot marginally over the line. India lead by 474, having lost their fourth.
Finally a non-Ajaz wicket!
Shubman Gill falls softly, giving Rachin Ravindra his maiden Test wicket. Gill just bunts a short ball straight to short cover, and walks off three short of a half century.
50 stand between Kohli and Gill
The duo are going after Somerville, and Kohli hits him for a six over midwicket to bring up the milestone.
LUNCH: India 142/2, lead by 405
A fine session again for India in which they added 73 runs and took the lead past 400. New Zealand's only other possibility of a wicket apart from Ajaz seemed to be the short ball tactic against Gill from round the wicket. But he's managed to stay in albeit uncomfortably.
NZ lose a review…
Ajaz was looking for his 13th, and could have had Kohli in nearly identical fashion to the first innings. But this time there seems to be a clearer inside edge, and the onfield decision stands.
12th for Ajaz!
He gets Pujara in the next over with a sharp turner, the edge carries low to first slip and he falls three short of his fifty. Ajaz continues his dream run!
Nearly a 12th for Ajaz!
Pujara is saved by a whisker. He's given out LBW but seems to be reviewing thinking of an inside edge. But replays confirm that it was indeed pad first. But the ball-tracker shows the ball to be bouncing over the stumps! Pujara survives, on 47.
11th for Ajaz!
Mayank lofts him on theoffside for a six and tries to repeat it but this time, he holes out in the deep. Ends a fine Test for Mayank as he finishes with 62, to back up his 150 in the first innings.
Fifty for Mayank!
The hundred run opening stand has come up as well, and Ajaz puts down another sharp return chance with Mayank on 58. Got his right hand to a powerful hit, but can't hold on.
India race away; Mayank survives on review
Tim Southee thought he had Mayank LBW but the review proves that there was an inside edge. This follows a morning filled with boundaries for both batters, who are into the forties now.
The day after history…
Would it finally have sunk in for Ajaz Patel, who's produced what could arguably be called amongst the finest individual achievements in Test cricket. It's a moment to celebrate, and within it there were many threads to unfurl.
A few of them – the ball-by-ball account of all of Ajaz's ten wickets, his own joy and his plans for quarantine once he returns home, a feature story from Vijay Tagore who wonders how it'd be for Ajaz himself given the situation NZ are in, and all the reactions pouring in from around the world as Ajaz went straight into the history books.
And we wait, after that to see how India will get on after bagging a big lead. Day 3 updates coming up shortly.
