New Zealand all-rounder Rachin Ravindra, who smashed a sparkling century in the first innings, said Virat Kohli’s wicket on the last ball of Day 3 was a huge boost for them. Kohli, who was dismissed for a duck in the first innings by pacer Will O’Rourke, played a pivotal role in India’s fightback in the innings. The former India captain, who took the brave call of batting at No.3 as Shubman Gill was injured, did not shy away from taking up the challenge again in the second innings despite a failure in the first.
He walked out to the middle after Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rohit Sharma gave India a solid start in complete contrast to a disastrous show in the first innings that saw them get bowled out for their lowest total (46) at home. Just like Rohit and Jaiswal, Kohli looked at ease in the second innings.
He lost his partner Rohit, who was bowled in a freakish manner, but found an able ally in Sarfaraz Khan. Kohli and Sarfaraz took the attack to New Zealand bowlers and got India back in the game. Just when it was looking like Kohli and Sarfaraz would take India stumps without further loss, part-time spinner Glenn Phillips got one to straighten from the length and found the outside edge of Kohli’s bat on the last ball of the day. A distraught Kohli opted for a review but replays showed he had got a faint nick.
The 136-run partnership was broken as Kohli walked back for 70 but he ensured was India were in the game. In the process, he also reached 9000 Test runs.
“It’s pretty hard to crystal-ball gaze into the future. It’s a quality batting line-up on a wicket that’s not doing too much, so it’s important for us to hold our lines and lengths and do that for long periods. But I think Kohli’s wicket at the end was very important,” Ravindra told reporters during the post-day press meet.
“Obviously, he’s a guy who has scored 9,000-plus Test runs, which is pretty mind-blowing, but for us it was a huge wicket. We know things happen quickly in this part of the world, so, hopefully, we can stick at it and get a few wickets in the morning,” he added.
New Zealand still ahead
New Zealand are still ahead by 125 runs, and Ravindra played his own part in that by cracking his second Test hundred, a classy 134.
The 24-year-old was understandably elated, and said the pre-tour training stint he had at the Chennai Super Kings Academy vastly benefitted him.
“It was an extremely invaluable experience. Before the six Tests in subcontinent, I thought maybe it would be the best thing for me to go and have a few days training there. A bit more realistic conditions than what we’d — doctored, used wickets — in New Zealand, which, you know, wouldn’t serve the same purpose.
“The CSK guys really sorted me out and I was able to have four or five days really good training on red soil and black soil wickets. So, that helped me shore up game plans and work on a few positions that I wanted to,” he detailed.
