India vs New Zealand: Axar, Jadeja shine in second session
Indian all-rounder Axar Patel struck in the second session on Day 3 of the ongoing first Test against New Zealand at Green Park, Kanpur. Axar removed the dangerous Tom Latham, who fell five runs short of his 12th Test ton. He also removed Ross Taylor and Henry Nicholls in the session. India have made a terrific comeback after New Zealand were cruising at 151/0.
New Zealand resumed on 197/2 in the second session. Latham and Taylor survived nearly 10 overs before Axar dismissed the latter. Srikar Bharat, who replaced senior wicket-keeper Wriddhiman Saha behind the stumps, took a lovely catch to dismiss Taylor. The youngster has been impressive so far. In his next over (last ball), Axar got rid of Nicholls. However, Latham firmly held one end.
In the 103rd over, the Axar-Bharat combo struck again. The duo removed the dangerous Latham, who missed his century by a whisker. Axar dropped it short on seeing Latham advancing down the track. Bharat didn't make any mistake and whipped the bails in time.
Latham played a terrific knock. He stitched a 151-run stand along with Will Young, who was outfoxed by R Ashwin in the first session earlier in the day. Latham, who could have scored his 12th Test ton, finished with 95 off 282 balls (10 fours). He is the second New Zealand batter to be dismissed stumped in 90s, after John Wright (99).
Ravindra Jadeja struck in the 111th over, removing Rachin Ravindra. The wicket exposed NZ's tail. New Zealand scored a total of 52 runs in the second session, while India took four wickets. The Black Caps finished on 249/6 (118) at the stroke of tea. To recall, India compiled 345 in the first innings, with debutant Shreyas Iyer slamming his maiden Test ton (105).
