India vs New Zealand Highlights, 1st Test, Day 3: IND reach 14/1 at Stumps to lead by 63 runs; Axar shines with 5-fer

Beautiful shot from the New Zealand captain. Williamson makes space and uses the crease to glide the length delivery towards point against Jadeja.

 Another four in the same four, courtesy of a poor length again. Short from Jadeja and all Kane needed to do was simply guide it through covers.

NZ 175/1 in 72 overs

Jadeja starts with a maiden. Fascinating contest between the bat and ball so far and Ashwin has created significant troubles for the Kiwi batters in the first hour of play. With Jadeja coming up, things can spice up now.

Ravindra Jadeja bowling from the river end for the first time in this Test.

Well well, then. Williamson resorting to a lofted slog-sweep within the first his ten deliveries! He plays and misses as the ball keeps low again. There seemed to be some sound as the ball approached the bat but umpire calls byes. 1 run off the over.

NZ 161/1 in 69 overs

Kane Williamson had scored a century (131) in his first-ever Test innings in India. Will Young's 89 is the sixth-highest score for the Kiwis in a maiden innings on Indian soil. The other five batters (Williamson, Bruce Taylor, John Parker, Jesse Ryder, and John Guy) have all scored centuries.

Pressure on New Zealand. Funny old game, this. Ashwin gets the ball to turn and the low bounce keeps one of the world's best batters on the edge. Williamson finally snatches a quick single to get off the mark on the last ball of the over.

NZ 152/1 in 67 overs

The low bounce gets Young. As expected, Ashwin breaks the deadlock! Ashwin had been trying different angles and variations and finally wins the battle against Young. A very faint edge off Young and Srikar Bharat does well to adjust to the low bounce and take the catch. 

NZ 151/1 in 66.1 overs

As Ishant had said ahead of the start of Day 3, there's no real movement so far but a far better line from the pacer to Latham than in the previous over. Ishant draws him to play through covers on the second ball but the batter misses the line completely. 

Ishant switches sides after the fourth delivery but the lines are way outside off. Latham comfortably leaves both balls.

The partnership continues to grow despite some initial hiccups – particularly against Ashwin. Will Young takes New Zealand past 150 with a four.

A four on the last delivery of the over from Latham off Ishant. The pacer comes from around the wicket for the left-hander but no testing lines from Ishant, as he bowls wide outside the off stump. Latham fends them off.

For the second time this morning, edge doesn't carry for Ashwin. The off-spinner is troubling Tom Latham with the ball turning away. 

NZ 143/0 in 63 overs

The fast bowler trying to force a mistake from Will Young. He keeps it full against Young in the first couple of deliveries but bowls a short-pitched on the third as the right-hander goes for a risky pull. Again, it doesn't carry to midwicket. 

Ishant bowls down the leg side as Young regains composure with a four.

NZ 141/0 in 62 overs

The low bounce is clearly troubling the New Zealand batters. Both Ishant and Ashwin inducing outside edges but the low bounce hasn't allowed the ball to carry to the slips.

NZ 137/0 in 61 overs

One of these few odd balls might as well reap the rewards for Ashwin. The ball keeping significantly low twice in this over as the off-spinner also gets a marginal turn on the deliveries. KS Bharat struggling with the sudden change in ball trajectory, which isn't a surprise. 

NZ 131/0 in 59 overs

Ravichandran Ashwin to bowl from the river end.

Ishant Sharma starts with a maiden. He starts with a couple of deliveries outside off but then shifts his line marginally towards the right-handed Young, drawing the batter to defend on the rest of the four deliveries.

Wriddhiman Saha experiencing stiffness in his neck and KS Bharat will be keeping wickets for now.

The players take the field on Day 3. Tom Latham (50*) and Will Young (75*) resume for the New Zealand.

“Little bit of dew on the ground. Let's see how the ball behaves because it's 55 overs old. Don't think it will reverse, it may even go straight. I think there might be normal swing on offer. It's better to go with a planned mindset. Yes, that's what we can do (contain the batters), we have to bowl good line and lengths and wait for things to happen. Don't want to try too many things. If we take one or two wickets, we can pull back in the game.”

Mayank Agarwal fielded on his knees near the second slip region during the Day 2 of the game and former Indian cricketer VVS Laxman, on the pre-match show ahead of Day 3, has insisted that it restricts sideward movement. Demonstrating through actions, Laxman further said that Agarwal should instead field with bended knees which could allow more flexibility in moving.

Ashwin did get a significant amount of turn during the final hour of Day 2 and the cracks are expected to further widen today, making the off-spinner a prime contender for some quick wickets. 

India's tour of South Africa could be in jeopardy, following growing COVID concerns surrounding the new variant, named ‘Omicorn’ by the World Health Organisation. There have been no official statements from either boards yet, and India 'A's ongoing game against South Africa ‘A’ continues as scheduled.

Ravichandran Ashwin is only five wickets away from going past Harbhajan Singh's Test wicket tally to become the third-highest wicket-taker for the country.

• Anil Kumble - 619 wickets
• Kapil Dev - 434 wickets
• Harbhajan Singh - 417 wickets
• Ravichandran Ashwin - 413 wickets*

Once teammates, now head coach (Dravid) and match referee (Srinath) respectively, having a discussion ahead of the third day.