India vs New Zealand 1st Test, Day 5 Highlights: Last wicket pair defies India as Kanpur Test ends in riveting draw

Tom Latham and night watchman William Sommerville walk in to kick-off the proceedings. R Ahwin will lead India's attack.  

Snapshots from Team India's final warm-up session ahead of Day 5.  

The Day 5 action will begin shortly as Tom Latham and William Somerville will kick-off the proceedings on the final day. The equation before the start of the day stands as: NZ require 280 runs to win, India need 9 wickets to achieve the same. If neither happens the match will end in a draw. 

Both the ex-cricketers reckon that the pitch hasn't “deteriorated”. A good sign for the Kiwis, we must agree.  

"It hasn't deteriorated as much as expected, it still looks alright. There are a few cracks but either they are too full or too wide. The areas where the spinners will mostly bowl looks alright. It'll still be lot of hard work." 

Visuals from Green Park, Kanpur on Day 5. Looks sunny as the tourists warm up for another exciting day of Test cricket. 

New Zealand confident to do well on Day 5 but aware of the Indian challenge, says Kiwi batting coach. 

India spinner Axar Patel, who made his Test debut earlier this year against England, has went on to create a new legacy for himself. The all-rounder has so far scalped 32 wickets in just seven innings, and will look to add some more in his tally on Day 5. A look at his clinical display with the ball: 

2/40 vs England

5/60 vs England

6/38 vs England

5/32 vs England

4/68 vs England

5/48 vs England

5/62 vs New Zealand 

“I think it’s hard to drop someone [Iyer] who has scored a century on Test debut against a quality side. So, it will probably be Rahane who will make way [for Kohli]”: Daniel Vettori 

Innings: 23

Wickets: 71

Average: 18.83

SR: 44.9

5-wicket hauls: 6 

324 vs Pak Christchurch 1993/94

317 vs Ban Chittagong 2008/09

278 vs Pak Dunedin 1984/85

There have been two occasions when a touring side has chased down a 200-plus target in India. 

276 WI vs IND Delhi 1987/88

207 Eng vs IND Delhi 1972/73

Overall 66 instances | Won 2 | Lost 33 | Drawn 31

However, no touring si has successfully chased down more than 276 in 4th innings in India

Can New Zealand pull off a spectacular in Kanpur? 

Ajinkya Rahane has received a lot of flak for his show with the bat. The stand-in skipper scored 35 in the first inning and could only manage 4 in the second. Assessing Rahane's show, former New Zealand international Simon Doull said: 

“He’s a better player than that. His dismissals against spin since 2019, you look at those, outside the line of off-stump, a lot of full deliveries. So, he’s getting lbw with the one that’s skidding on, he’s nicked off, or he’s chipping one to cover, mid-off and those areas. So, those are the dismissals against spin he would be worried about.” 

India's star spinner R Ashwin currently stands on level terms with Harbhajan Singh and a wicket today will see the carrom-ball specialist achieve a new feat. Both the spinners have scalped 417 wickets in the red-ball format and Ashwin now stands a chance to overtake the veteran spinner. 

Wicketkeeper-batter Wriddhiman Saha drew praises from many for his valiant display as he battled through his pain and scored an unbeaten 61 to help India impose a stiff 284-run target for the visitors. Here is what Team India's batting coach Vikram Rathour had to say about the 37-year-old.   

"Rahul Sir had told me to bat as many balls as possible and I was determined to do that. We felt that 250 including the first innings lead would have been a good score, so we're very happy with where we are now. Actually, not a lot was happening with the wicket today, the ball was keeping a bit low. The talk was to get to a competitive total and I feel that it's a really good total. We have real spin power, so hopefully we can get the job done tomorrow." - Shreyas Iyer after stumps on Day 4 

“Normally you’d think Indian players, Indian conditions, better players of spin. I don’t think by any stretch the current crop of Indian players are anywhere near the quality of players of spin of years gone by. The Laxmans, the Dravids, the Sachins, and Gautam Gambhir. Players like that who were just brilliant players of spin. I don’t think the current crop are as good,” the former Kiwi international said on Star Sports during the lunch break on Day 4. 

India middle-order batter Shreyas Iyer scripted history on Sunday afternoon in the ongoing Test between India and New Zealand in Kanpur. The right-handed batter, who scored 65 off 125 balls, became the first Indian to score a century and a half-century in the same Test on debut. He is overall the tenth cricketer to achieve this big feat.

India rode on fifty-run partnerships for the sixth, seventh and eighth wickets— only the second occasion in Indian cricket history—after the top and middle-order batters failed again.

The hosts set an improbable 284-run target and Ashwin dismissed Will Young (2) before the Kiwis ended the day on 4/1. TV replays suggested the ball would have missed the stumps. Young contemplated a review, and by the time he made his request, the 15-second DRS window had elapsed. With that dismissal, Ashwin became the joint third highest wicket-taker for India, equalling Harbhajan Singh’s haul (417 wickets). 

Hello and welcome to the LIVE coverage of Day 5 of the 1st Test between India and New Zealand. While India are placed in the driver's seat and are nine wickets away from win, New Zealand require 280 more in a track, which has been producing sharp turn as witnessed in the previous day. The hosts, despite having three spinners in their playing XI, will not look to take things lightly. Stay tuned for further updates!