MUMBAI: At about 4.45 PM on Friday, things were looking up for the Indian team in the third Test against New Zealand at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Despite losing the toss, they had dismissed the visitors for 235 in two and a half sessions. Ravindra Jadeja had taken a fifer and in their first innings, even after losing Rohit Sharma, India had raced to 78/1 in 17 overs.
Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill, the two next-gen stars, were out in the middle with India cruising at 4.58 runs per over. Another 15 minutes, and they would have finished the day on top. However, what followed was a mayhem.
With just three overs to go for stumps, Jaiswal, rather than showing restraint, went for a reverse sweep against Ajaz Patel on the second ball of the 18th over. The ball did not do much, just pitched on the leg stump and held the line. Jaiswal missed and Patel cleaned him up. The opener was back in the pavilion. In an attempt to avoid losing another wicket, India sent Mohammed Siraj as the night-watchman in place of Virat Kohli.
Now, before even debating whether or not Kohli should have come in, Siraj might not have been the best choice to defend in the first place. And it showed. The pacer was trapped on the pads in the very first delivery he faced. Siraj didn’t just stop there, he wasted a review as well before walking back to the dressing room.
Ironically, it led to the biggest cheer of the day as Kohli eventually walked out to bat. From the first ball, the senior batter looked anxious to get going. One could sense that something is about to happen. Tom Latham knew it too and he brought on Rachin Ravindra at the other end. Kohli felt the pressure immediately despite getting a four off a full toss. Off the third ball of the 19th over, he called for a non-existent single after driving a full delivery to mid-on. Matt Henry took it on the run and had a go at the stumps at the non-striker’s end. Kohli, despite a full length dive, fell short as the 18,000-strong Wankhede crowd went silent — it was the second run out he was involved in this series.
In a span of eight deliveries, and approximately 13 minutes, India had gone from 78/1 to 84/4. And not a single wicket was caused by the brilliance of the bowlers. Three self-destructing dismissals and a wasted review left India reeling as they trail by 149 runs at stumps.
Jadeja, who addressed the media after the day’s play, said that such mistakes happen and they want to build partnerships from here on. “Everything happened in 10 minutes. But it happens, in a team game, you can't blame anyone. We will have to do as much as we can in the first innings only then will we be able to play (well) in the second innings,” he said.
Indeed, and for that, Rishabh Pant and Gill should carry on through the first session on Saturday, putting forward big scores for themselves. Maybe they will. Or maybe they won’t. However, those eight balls in the last half-hour of play on Friday summed up the fragility of India which has been visible throughout this series against New Zealand.
