India vs New Zealand – 1st test day 2 review

The second day of the first test has continued the way the first day had panned out. Yet again, New Zealand reigned supreme over India, which is a little bit tough to digest considering the visitors are higher ranked compared to the hosts in tests as well. However, this series has shown yet again that form, and not ranking, is the real deal, so to say, when it comes to practical applications. Two days have passed in the game and judging from the proceedings it can be said with a degree of certainty that barring an exceptional display from the Indians in the remainder of the match it will be hard for the visitors to salvage even a draw from the match.

 

Batting: TheNew Zealand batsmen continued with their merry ways, plundering the Indian bowlers at their sweet will. Brendon McCullum scored a magnificent double century and Corey Anderson provided exceptional support with a priceless innings of 77. Even Sodhi and Southee contributed important runs, which could prove to be important later on in the match. The Indians, on the other hand, were insipid yet again with none of the top 3 able to make much headway in terms of runs. This has put additional pressure on the batsmen to follow. The lack of runs, however, pales in comparison to the ways in which the Indian batsmen contrived to lose their wickets. Dhavan was undone by the fantastic swing generated by Boult, who also claimed Pujara, whose slash outside the off stump was uncharacteristic of him. Virat was unable to deal with the bounce of Southee and Wagner claimed Vijay, who had been going steady with 26 with a really good delivery.

 

Bowling: As is evident from the scoreboard, Indians were not really effective with the ball. Ishant Sharma was successful in terms of wickets, picking up 6 and going past the 150 wicket mark. Both Zaheer and Jadeja scored ‘centuries’ of their own. New Zealand, on the other hand, was able to use the conditions better. While Boult landed telling blows, Southee kept it tight and Sodhi offered a lot of control. His display would have been heartening for the skipper Brendon McCullum considering he is new to international cricket and he was going up against batsmen who are reputed to be the best when it comes to dealing with spinners of any kind. Once again, at the cost of repetition, it needs to be said that the BCCI should look for a reputed and a successful international quick bowler and a spinner to replace Joe Dawes who has not been able to produce the goods so far. He has not been able to provide much guidance for the bowlers who have continued to deteriorate beyond repair and the Indian board needs to act fast if it is serious about achieving a good result in a year’s time.