India vs New Zealand Match
Second Test began at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune on 24th October, 2024. Fresh from their shocker in the first Test, India were looking for a complete overhauling of the line-up for this game and a hope to bring some balance to the series. And Day One was full of twists-turns-the finger with much-needed breakthroughs for Indian spinners, particularly Ravichandran Ashwin Here are major highlights of the day:
1. New Zealand Steady Start:
Tom Latham and Devon Conway gave New Zealand a stable start as Tom Latham had won the toss and elected to bat first. Latham had expressed his confidence that they could bat first on this Pune pitch before the match.
The Indian fast bowlers Jasprit Bumrah and debutant Akash Deep’s early overs were steady but couldn’t disturb the Kiwi openers.
New Zealand reached 32/0 in 7 overs, both Latham and Conway playing cautiously but confidently, taking advantage of good batting conditions.
2. Ashwin’s Vital Wicket:
The introduction of spin immediately began to yield dividends for India. Ravichandran Ashwin, brought into the attack in the eighth over, sent Latham back with his very first over.
It was Ashwin who trapped Tom Latham LBW for 15 off 22 balls. This was India’s much-needed first breakthrough. Latham did not review as the ball hit him square in front of the stumps.
Ashwin’s breakthrough slowed New Zealand’s momentum, with the visitors at 32/1 after 8 overs.
3. Washington Sundar Returns to the Test Team:
India played with two off spinners and with Washington Sundar from the other end. It was the first Test cricket for Sundar since March 2021.
Sundar replaces an all-rounder Kuldeep Yadav in the XI, which said that India would rely more on its spin resources for this game.
New Zealand was at 38/1 at the 11th over with Devon Conway on 20 off 38 balls and Will Young on 2 off 7. The Kiwi pair began to build when Latham was dismissed by trying to glance against India’s spinners.
4. Selection Pendulum Swings for India:
Coming off a defeat in the first Test, India made three major changes to their lineup: it introduced Shubman Gill, Washington Sundar, and Akash Deep into the playing XI as replacements for KL Rahul, Kuldeep Yadav, and Mohammed Siraj respectively.
Dropped KL Rahul was one big talking point. Rahul’s record of late has been mixed but with Gill fully fit again and pretty keen to get back to his place, the choice wasn’t easy on the part of Indian management. What has also caught Rahul off guard is that he has scored only 19 runs away from reaching the 3,000-run mark in Test cricket.
Akash Deep represented his Test debut, meaning India had an alternative fast bowler to showcase alongside Jasprit Bumrah. However, the spin pair of Ashwin and Sundar was most likely to be more instrumental in this game, particularly given the expected turn at the Pune pitch.
5. Changes in New Zealand’s XI
New Zealand were without their former captain Kane Williamson, who was out of the team, more so for the series, because of the injury he suffered during the tour to Sri Lanka. He is a player New Zealand rely heavily on, and to say that he left a big void in their middle order is doing no justice at all.
New Zealand also lost the services of fast bowling spearhead Matt Henry due to a glute injury. Left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner replaced him, showing New Zealand’s intention to neutralize India’s plan for games-an overdose of spin.
New Zealand’s XI for this match were: Tom Latham (c), Devon Conway, Will Young, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Blundell (w), Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Ajaz Patel, and William O’Rourke.
6. Conditions in Pune Favoring Spinners:
There was nothing much for the batsmen to do on this flat track, as the spinners were expected to reel in the runs at the pitch in Pune. During the pre-match analysis, Dinesh Karthik and Simon Doull had pointed out that there were dry patches and very little grass on the pitch, making it a perfect surface for spin from Day 1.
Ashwin’s early success had already confirmed the suspicion that spinners would play a significant role in this Test match. Both Ashwin and Sundar started to get considerable turn as the morning session progressed.
It appeared to be a sound strategy on part of India to send in three spinners-Ashwin, Sundar, and Ravindra Jadeja-considering the way the New Zealand fast bowlers had overpowered India in the first Test.
7. A Resilience and Spin Battle:
Devon Conway and Will Young still battled for New Zealand following Latham’s loss. They were playing on the backfoot and not doing anything out of their wits while defending against the Indian spinners.
But Latham at the wicket was such that New Zealand only could still score slowly, yet steadily. They reached 38/1 in 11 overs. It was going to be a battle of attrition wherein India would look to rely on their spinners to make further inroads.
Conclusion:
It has been quite an interesting contest between bat and ball on the first day of the second Test between India and New Zealand. While New Zealand looked like starting well with Tom Latham and Devon Conway, an early breakthrough by Ravichandran Ashwin straight away got the game right back into the hands of India. In the latter stages of the match, it will be interesting to see how Indian spinners take advantage of the turning track at Pune, while New Zealand will look to tread on the tested-to-perfection middle order to eventually put up a competitive total on the board.
Changes made by India for this game have already proved rewarding with Ashwin’s success, and Washington Sundar has also provided a lot of depth to their bowling and batting line. For the visitors, without the key players – Kane Williamson and Matt Henry, they will need to look deep into their bench to challenge India in this knock-out game.