India check New Zealand scoring on Day 3 of WTC final

NZ pacer Kyle Jamieson takes 5/31 and opener Devon Conway hits fifty but Indian bowlers fight after being dismissed for 217

A well-plotted dismissal of Devon Conway was the perfect mood-setter for India after a disappointing day with the bat saw them imploding for 217 and almost gifting away the advantage to New Zealand. The Kiwis are in the game, courtesy a very disciplined and professional approach, to inch close to India’s first innings target but the responsibility now lies almost squarely on Kane Williamson.

India's Virat Kohli celebrates the wicket of New Zealand's Devon Conway. (Action Images via Reuters)

Somewhat of a first-innings saviour for New Zealand, Conway had a 200 at Lord’s and a fighting 80 at Edgbaston coming into the World Test Championship final at Southampton. He has the highest score of the Test so far but New Zealand probably would have been happier had he been more patient in the final minutes of Day 3 that saw light fading sharply. India prised out his wicket with a probing effort that stifled New Zealand for runs despite Williamson’s presence at the other end. Trying to break the shackles, Conway opted for the much-relied flick shot, only to find Mohammad Shami at mid-on.

The first time India’s best five Test bowlers operating together was a thrilling sight, with Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Shami making the ball skid and talk from angles as Ravichandran Ashwin put the brakes on the runs with his variation on a slowly wearing pitch.

A glimmer of sunshine post-lunch may have stoked the New Zealand dressing room after Kyle Jamieson’s fifth five-wicket haul bundled out India, but it quickly gave way to dank skies, slowly setting up conditions that don’t thrill batsmen. New Zealand, however, brought in all their experience to negate India’s push for an early breakthrough. Ishant Sharma straightaway found movement, averaging 0.97 degrees of seam, while Shami induced a staggering number of false shots from the openers. Run rates went for a toss for the second day in a row. If India ended with an innings rate of 2.35, New Zealand were averaging 2.06 after Day 3. The scoring rate in this Test is 2.27, the slowest for any Test in the UK this century, according to CricViz. It shouldn’t matter, not when both sides are fighting for a first innings lead. Expect New Zealand to show dollops of patience and application again on Monday.

The biggest drawback of batting in such conditions is that it will never stop being challenging. India found that earlier in the day, with the Kiwis bowling at a pace best suited to extract swing. Not even Virat Kohli is exempt from that unrelenting scrutiny. All it needed was a momentary lapse in concentration, and an accurate incoming delivery from Jamieson (the seventh delivery of his 94-ball spell to have hit the stumps), luring Kohli into a shuffle that set up a plumb leg-before.

That dismissal, three overs into the morning session, tilted the momentum in New Zealand’s favour. That the enormity of the match was playing on his mind was visible from Rishabh Pant’s cautious start—taking 20 balls to get off the mark—but he lasted two more balls. A switch of angle from Jamieson, going over-the-wicket from around, was enough for Pant to fish at a full, leaving delivery.

Trying to enforce a vigil with his busy batting, Ajinkya Rahane was on the verge of completing one of his best fifties when Neil Wagner’s short ball triggered a mistimed pull that had Williamson reacting smartly. Deploying Tom Latham at square-leg, Wagner hit the same length. Out came another mistimed pull, this time safely pouched by Latham. From thereon, any runs from the rest of the batsmen were to be bonus.

Ashwin, sent to bat after Ravindra Jadeja, didn’t waste time in driving some glorious boundaries on the up. His was a chancy innings though, with edges flying through the cordon. By the time he was caught at second slip, Ashwin had managed to take India past the psychological barrier of 200.

Every run comes at a premium in these conditions. New Zealand were expecting a grind but India raised the stakes even more by making their openers face 14 of the first 15 overs from around the wicket. Conway was the intended target of this consolidated effort. Latham usually bats on the slower side but Conway has been able to make up for that in the last two Tests for New Zealand.

But by aiming for his stumps all the time, India didn’t let Conway off the hook. Ashwin’s guile, the pitch offering variable spin, only added to the pressure. Latham withstood it for 104 balls before going after a flighted delivery from Ashwin which he hit to Kohli at short extra-cover for a sharp overhead catch. Change of pace (Ashwin was averaging over 90kph but this was at 84.5kph) probably did the trick here though the ball did dip on Latham.

Conway survived that spell but Kohli was quick to bring on Jadeja at the other end to get the ball to spin into him. “Change karte rehna. Settle mat karne dena isko,” chirped Pant after Conway thwarted a tossed up delivery from Jadeja. But the challenges kept changing. If Shami came around the wicket to target Conway’s stumps, Bumrah was keen on softening him with a few blows to the ribcage. That last passage of play of around 45 minutes saw Shami, Bumrah, Jadeja and Ishant take a crack at Conway. It yielded 26 dots before Conway finally unleashed his flick off the pad, giving Ishant his 200th Test wicket away from home.