IND vs NZ: It’s Sarfaraz! Sarfaraz! All around at the Chinnaswamy Stadium as the rising red ball star from India scored his maiden Test century on Day 4.
India, the unbeaten home side has been the most unstoppable force at home, since they have had an unbeaten Test record in the WTC since when Rohit Sharma took over the captaincy for India’s red-ball team.
India though faced a huge stir in the first Indian inning against New Zealand, as they were bundled for just 46 runs on Day 2, in the morning session. Being bowled out for such a timid score, this marked their second-lowest score in the history of WTC as well as Indian cricket.
After Lunch, batting conditions seemed to have changed, as Devon Conway took his toll on Indian bowlers as he smashed the likes of Ashwin and Bumrah, the finest bowlers for India to all nooks of the ground. Conway got out at the end of the day after having scored a decent 91.
Though Conway missed out on a hundred, Rachin Ravindra, the best Kiwi batter under sub-continent conditions, didn’t miss out on the opportunity, as he smashed his maiden test century in India. Alongside Southee, he took New Zealand to 402 in their first inning.
Rohit Sharma the Indian skipper came in to bat alongside Jaiswal in the second inning, the batters batted aggressively as Sharma scored a quickfire century on record to give India the best start possible.
Virat Kohli, for the second time in the match, came to bat in at no. 3, while Sarfaraz, the other batter, played a very good hand alongside the veteran batter to build a 100+ run partnership. Kohli scored a comeback 70 as he reached his 31st Test fifty and also enlisted himself among Indian legends to have scored 9000 Test runs for India.
Sarfaraz also batted stunningly for India, as he scored 70 runs as well when Virat fell at the end of Day 3 to Glenn Phillips on the last ball of the day. He, along with former Indian U-19 campaigner Pant, batted throughout the morning session of Day 4, as Sarfaraz scored his maiden test hundred.
Sarfaraz Khan scored 115* while Rishabh Pant notched off to a stellar fifty as Pant remains not out on 53*. With both batters at the crease, India might look to finish the trail and extend their lead to a respectable target by the end of Day 4.
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