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'I don’t know who said I am a white-ball player': India bowler rubbishes claim after shining in IND vs NZ 1st Test
IND vs NZ, 1st Test: Soon after making the headlines on Day 3, star India bowler rubbished claims about him being only a white-ball bowler.
India ended Day 3 of the 1st India-New Zealand Test match at Green Park, Kanpur, with a 63-run lead and with 9 wickets to spare. Despite the Kiwis openers stitching a 151-run stand, India managed to wrap up their innings at 296 to bag a 49-run lead. The bowlers, led by a fabulous five-wicket haul from Axar Patel, led the fightback.
Axar's feat is being celebrated widely as he clinched his fifth fifer in just the 7 innings of his Test career. He was instrumental in running through the side's middle-order to allow other bowlers to find their mojo.
As expected, he then addressed the press conference at the end of day's play, where he clamped down on a claim about him being only a white-ball bowler.
“I don’t know who said I am a white-ball player. Whenever I have played first-class cricket or for India A, I have performed well. I never thought that I was a white-ball player. It’s all about the mindset, whether you think of yourself as a white-ball or red-ball cricketer. For me, I was waiting for an opportunity to perform (in Test cricket). And when I got a chance during the England series, I did well. I would give credit to the team for placing faith in me and giving me a chance.”
He got off the mark early on Day 3 by dismissing Ross Taylor on 11 to leave New Zealand at 214/3. Soon after, he trapped Henry Nicholls plumb in front on 2, with the left-hander paying the price for missing the ball during a sweep. His third wicket was Tom Latham, who was stumped brilliantly by substitute wicketkeeper KS Bharat on 95.
In his next spell, he got rid off NZ's stumper Tom Blundell on 13 by castling him. And finally, he completed his five-wicket haul by cleaning up Tim Southee on 5.
Batting first, India posted 345. Shubman Gill (52), Shreyas Iyer (105), and Ravindra Jadeja (50) were the stars of the show. With the ball, Southee shone with a five-wicket haul.
