Kiwis on the ropes as India close in on victory, demolishing visitors’ top order

KANPUR: India set New Zealand an improbable 434-run victory target and then blew away the visitors’ top order in yesterday’s final session to close in on the first Test.

Resuming day four on 159/1, India’s positive batting over two sessions yielded 218 runs before home captain Virat Kohli declared on 377/5 at Kanpur’s Green Park Stadium.

Needing to pull off the biggest successful chase in the history of Test cricket for an unlikely win, New Zealand were reeling at 93/4 at stumps, still trailing the massive target by 341.

Luke Ronchi (38) and Mitchell Santner (eight) will return today hoping to resist or at least delay India’s victory march in the first match of the three-Test series.

Ravichandran Ashwin (3/68), who dismissed four frontline Kiwi batsmen in the first innings, proved once again why he is considered India’s premier spinner.

The off-spinner had Martin Guptill caught at silly point for a duck with the first ball of his second over, and trapped Tom Latham (two) leg before with the fifth.

Ashwin claimed his 200th Test wicket when he dismissed New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson (25) leg before.

Ross Taylor (17) then ran himself out to compound the tourists’ misery.

“The game’s not over yet,” Ashwin said after becoming the second fastest bowler to take 200 wickets, achieving the feat in his 37th Test.

Former Australia spinner Clarrie Grimmett took one Test fewer to reach the mark.

“We should have got them five or six down today itself. I’m bit disappointed,” Ashwin added.

Earlier in the morning, Williamson attacked with accurate spin from both ends, and his slow bowlers did not let him down.

Left-arm spinner Santner trapped Murali Vijay lbw for 76, ending the right-hander’s second century-plus stand of the match with Cheteshwar Pujara (78).

Kohli fell to off-spinner Mark Craig and Ish Sodhi struck the next blow with a beauty of a delivery that spun from outside leg, took the outside edge of Pujara’s bat and nestled into Taylor’s waiting hands at slip.

Ajinkya Rahane (40) missed his 50, but Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja smashed unbeaten half-centuries and featured in an unbroken century stand to virtually bat New Zealand out of the contest.

Sharma, who made 35 in the first innings, remained unbeaten on 68.

Jadeja, who scored 42 not out in the first innings and claimed five wickets with his left-arm spin, continued to have a good match.

The left-hander clobbered three sixes en route to his second Test 50 before breaking into a bat-twirling celebration.

“Still six wickets to go,” New Zealand bowling coach Shane Jurgensen said.

“If you get a partnership you can score at a decent rate.

“More importantly, you can bat for time.

That’s our goal, to fight for as long as we possibly can.” – Reuters