Finance
Opener Devon Conway shone with eye-catching boundaries before falling nine runs short of a century as New Zealand finished day two of the first Test against India at 180/3 in 50 overs, leading by 134 runs at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Thursday.
After bowling India out for 46 – their lowest Test total at home and third lowest overall in the format – due to Matt Henry’s 5-15 and William O’Rourke’s 4-22, Conway’s knock sent New Zealand into the lead, with his takedown of Indian spinners being the highlight.
He struck 11 fours and three sixes in his 91 off 105 balls before being dismissed by Ravichandran Ashwin. At stumps, which arrived a little earlier because to poor lighting, Rachin Ravindra (22 not out) and Darly Mitchell (14 not out) ensured New Zealand continued to swell their lead and set themselves up for a mammoth day three.
Resuming from 82/1 in the final session, Will Young began by firmly hitting four boundaries off Kuldeep Yadav. The misery increased on India as captain Rohit Sharma put down tough chances twice at slip of Conway and Young off Ravindra Jadeja’s bowling.
It was followed by the team giving Young a life when a throw went to the wrong end and Rishabh Pant hobbling off the field after being hit on side of right knee by a sharply spinning in delivery from Jadeja, which evaded Conway’s attempted drive, with Dhruv Jurel taking keeping duties.
Conway then showed his strength on both the front and back feet by hitting Kuldeep for six and four, respectively, before Young delivered a top-edge on a sweep off Jadeja to fine leg to fall for 33. Three overs later, Ashwin struck as Conway attempted a pre-planned sweep, but got caught in a tangle and saw the fuller ball rattle the stumps. Ravindra and Mitchell looked impressive in their time at the crease before stumps fell on an excellent day of Test cricket for England.
Brief Scores: India 46 in 31.2 overs (Rishabh Pant 20; Matt Henry 5-15) trail New Zealand 180/3 in 50 overs (Devon Conway 91; Ravindra Jadeja 1-28) by 134 runs
Source:IANS
