IND vs NZ 1st Test: For India, the Bengaluru Test on Friday was a tale of two halves. India put up a valiant fightback following an aggressive batting outburst by Tim Southee and Rachin Ravindra that saw New Zealand reach 402 runs. With better batting conditions, India's second innings onslaught led by Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Sarfaraz Khan ignited hopes of an incredible turnaround in the Garden City. New Zealand got a lead over India in the first innings by a staggering 356 runs, but by the conclusion of Day 3, the hosts had closed the gap to 125 runs. At stumps, they were 231 for 3.
As the game came to an end, there was a bittersweet atmosphere as Virat Kohli who hit a half-century got out on the last ball of the day. The wicketkeeper managed to catch a faint edge that Glenn Phillips was able to generate. Not sure if he had really won it, Kohli appealed for a review right away. As the replays unfolded, the entire Chinnaswamy Stadium waited in tense anticipation. The crowd let out a collective sigh of despair when the snickometer verified the edge with a spike. Even captain Rohit Sharma shook his head in dissatisfaction as he observed from the dressing room.
Rachin Ravindra on Virat Kohli
Rachin Ravindra who smashed a century on Day 3 talked about his partnership with Tim Southee and how it helped him in his knock. He also praised Virat Kohli for his knock but believes they still have enough to win this match.
"Was just trying to build partnerships. That partnership with Tim (Southee) really helped me out, the objective was clear and we knew what we needed to do. (On Bengaluru) It’s a little bit comforting although the wicket is completely different, nice knowing the surroundings. It’s a lovely wicket to bat. Not really superstitious. Great to have him (his father) here, it’s his hometown, also have some family here. Great crowd here as well. I actually took the whole booklet (of ticket allocations). Virat is obviously a great player, he punished us but we’ve still got a lot of runs to play with," said Rachin Ravindra at the end of Day 3.
Despite the pain of losing Kohli at the end of the day, India would be happy to score 231 for three wickets, especially given the terrible opening stand. But the stand of 136 runs in just 163 deliveries gave India hope that they could at least salvage the Test. With a second-inning score of almost five runs per over, India made sure that the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium fans could return expecting to see an exciting finish. At 70, Sarfaraz Khan was still undefeated.
