India v/s New Zealand: Rohit blooms in Eden Gardens

Thankfully, Ravindra Jadeja’s largesse did not cost India much. Jadeja overstepped while trapping New Zealand’s No. 9 batsman Jeetan Patel. So plumb was Patel in front that he started to walk even before umpire Richard Kettleborough raised his index finger. However, halfway down the track to the dressing room, Patel was asked to stop for the umpires to check for No Ball. However, Patel lasted another two deliveries before holing out to mid-off when three runs short of his maiden Test fifty.

Patel had emerged the unlikely top-scorer for New Zealand. His bunny-like batting against Dale Steyn in his last Test series in South Africa in 2012-13 are still fresh in mind. He ran away to square leg out of fear against Dale Steyn while also exposing all the three stumps while taking stance in the Cape Town Test.

There was no problem for India’s Rohit Sharma, though, who steadied a rocking India second innings, and gave a sorry-looking scoreboard some credibility. In scoring 82 on a testing pitch on the third day of the second Test here on Sunday, Sharma renewed his love affair with Eden Gardens, where he has previously scored 177 on his Test debut and an ODI world record 264.
Thanks to Sharma’s crucial knock after India were reduced to 43/4 in their second innings, and his partnerships with Kohli and local boy Wriddhiman Saha, India reached a safe total of 227/8, and an overall lead of 339, with two days remaining.

India failed to bundle out the remaining three wickets early on Day 3, letting overnight batsmen BJ Watling and Patel to raise 60 for the eighth wicket. Though the two were rattled by India’s medium-pacers Md Shami and Bhuvneshwar Kumar who beat their edges repeatedly, Patel struck some awesome boundaries. There was no power in his shots. It was sheer timing that would have made a top-order batsman proud. And, the fast outfield assisted in fetching him boundaries. He drove Kumar through mid-off, drove, cut and swept Jadeja for delectable fours and take him within sight of his first Test fifty.

However, after having the ‘life’ on 47, Patel lasted only two more deliveries as Jadeja was promptly removed and Ravichandran Ashwin straightaway struck with his first delivery. Patel played his first false shot when he lofted an Ashwin loosener to mid-off for Shami, who did not take much time to take the remaining two NZ wickets. But, not until the visitors crossed 200 – they were all out for 204.
With the 112-run first innings lead in their hand, India had plenty of time in the game to force a victory. Shikhar Dhawan needed to salvage whatever he could in the second innings if he was to retain his place in the 11 for the next Test. New Zealand left-arm pacer Trent Boult did not make his life easy either, feeding him with short balls and creating doubts in his mind while also leaving him in pain by twice hitting his thumb.

But a delightful cover drive off Matt Henry for four to open his account eased Dhawan a bit. He looked positive post lunch even as he helplessly saw his opening partner Murali Vijay fall to an identical fashion to the first innings, edging Matt Henry again to second slip, and Cheteshwar Pujara wrongly given LBW by Englishman Richard Kettleborough when the ball impacted on the leg stump and was moving further away.

Dhawan, however, did not make the most of the positive start he had in which he cut and drove his troublemaker Boult for fours. However, the left-armer and his Sunrisers Hyderabad team-mate had the last laugh by having him LBW with little feet movement, perhaps the doubts that have been created more with his dry run. Credit to New Zealand pacers Boult and Henry for giving their side a ray of hope of bouncing back into the match after their batsmen’s failures.

Dhawan’s frame of mind somewhat defined India’s second innings as they lost wickets repeatedly except for a 48-run fifth wicket stand between captain Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, and 103 for the seventh between Sharma and Saha. A thin edge off Santner to wicketkeeper Luke Ronchi denied Sharma that elusive Test century that has stretched to 33 innings now.

Kohli looked set for a tall score until he was done in by a Trent Boult delivery that kept very low and got him LBW. Kohli had earlier seen off the initial Neil Wagner testing short deliveries with aplomb, not even attempting anything that was in his hip region as he had a deep backward square leg, long leg and short fine-leg waiting eagerly.

The session between lunch and tea saw India lose six wickets – 98/6 in 26 overs – in stark contrast to none that they lost in the same session on Day 1 and to only one that New Zealand lost on Day 2. But, unlike on Day 1, in which India lost 4 wickets in the final session, the hosts lost only Sharma as Saha and Kumar took India’s fight into Day 4.