IND vs NZ | 1st Test, Day 3: Umpire Nitin Menon, Ravichandran Aswhin involved in animated discussion

India 'A' tour of South Africa to continue

The detection of a new Covid-19 variant in South Africa put the cricketing and sporting activities under dark clouds. However, the India ‘A’ tour of South Africa which is underway is going to continue. The visitors are presently in Bloemfontein and had a discussion with Cricket South Africa (CSA) officials and subsequently decided to complete the fixtures. "We are in contact with the BCCI and there is no prejudice to the Indian tour to South Africa at this stage. We will, of course, continue to monitor developments regarding the spread of the virus and keep the BCCI informed. As CSA we remain committed to ensuring that all visiting teams and Proteas players are afforded a safe environment to play cricket," Lawson Naidoo, the head of CSA, told Cricbuzz on Friday (November 26) evening. "The distance between the two places is over 1000 miles and we have been told that there is no immediate health hazard. We have had discussions with the CSA officials and the medical team. The team hotel and the ground area have been sanitised and we're in a bio-bubble," team manager Anil Patel told Cricbuzz on Friday. "At this stage, we have decided to stay on." The sides are slated to play a three-match series with the first unofficial Test ending in a draw.

IND vs NZ | 1st Test, Day 3: Saha suffers stiff neck, Srikar Bharat takes wicketkeeping gloves

Wriddhiman Saha did not take the field and wicketkeeping gloves at the start of the third day of the first Test in Kanpur due to a stiff neck and Andhra Pradesh’s Srikar Bharat made his maiden appearance behind the stumps for India. Saha came back into the playing XI as India rested Rishabh Pant, whose rapid strides as a wicketkeeper-batsman made it impossible for the Bengal wicketkeeper to maintain his place in the side, even on pitches helpful to spinners. New Zealand resumed their first innings at 129/0 with the openers Will Young and Tom Latham resuming on 75 and 50 respectively. Indian bowlers have been bowling well without too much luck and bounce from the surface that did not help the ball carry to the closing fielders.

Watch | Centurion Shreyas Iyer reveals motivational words from Sunil Gavaskar

Centurian on his Test debut, Shreyas Iyer could not have dreamt of a better start to his red-ball career. Coming into bat when every Indian batsman failed to convert their starts, Shreyas Iyer showed incredible maturity to score 105 runs off 171 balls on Day 2 of the first Test match between India and New Zealand. He scored runs at a healthy strike rate of 61.40 and helped put in a decent first innings total of 345 runs. Ahead of the game, Iyer was presented with his India cap by none other than legendary Sunil Gavaskar who had a chat with him pre-game. Iyer revealed on official broadcasters Star Sports what Gavaskar said on the day and termed it as motivational. “He obviously motivated me a lot while giving the cap. The words that stayed in my mind was that ‘you don’t look ahead too much, you don’t look at your past, but you stay in the present and think about the next ball.’ And that’s what I was doing when I went into the wicket.” Iyer, a household name due to his Indian Premier League exploits with the Delhi Capitals has made a strong case for himself for the tumultuous Indian middle-order, a position that has had strong debates over the past year. Many have been of the view that the old guard of captain Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara has to make way for the new generation of aggressive cricketers who can score runs at a rapid rate while protecting their wickets. Iyer, an injury substitute to KL Rahul, certainly will spark the debate once again going ahead of the South Africa series scheduled to take place in December.

IND vs NZ | 1st Test, Day 2: Young-Latham, Southee produce powerful performances to give India scare

The openers Will Young and Tom Latham batted like dream and put on an unbeaten opening partnership of more than 100 runs to put New Zealand firmly on the top in the first Test against India in Kanpur. By the end of the second day’s play, the Blackcaps were 129 without losing any wicket with an ever so solid Tom Latham and an enterprising Will Young at the crease. India were left frustrated by their strong defence and patience as the duo cashed in on any scoring opportunities presented by the bowlers in desperate search of wickets. There were some unplayable deliveries bowled by spinners but those were far and very few in numbers as the Kiwis openers were also helped by a complete lack of bounce and pace on the surface. Young’s coming of age Will Young debuted around the same time last year when Kane Williamson missed a Test against Pakistan and he has played only in the shadow of his captain whenever he has sought time away from the game, either forcefully or willingly. He has all the ingredients to become the best of New Zealand’s batsmen in the longest format and all of that was on display in the second Test of the series in England when he flayed and resisted a relentless seam bowling attack of James Anderson and Stuart Broad. However, he was not a certain starter for the series against India until Devon Conway broke his hand in the T20 World Cup that also broke the door of opportunity down for him. He had to open the batting and this time, the challenge was completely different as he was to face the ripping offspin of Ravichandran Ashwin and deadly accurate left-arm spin of Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel. There was no dearth of composure or eagerness to take the challenge to the spinners as well with him being proactive to dance down the wicket to drive when bowlers offered him temptation with flighted deliveries and awareness to go deep inside the crease when bowlers responded to his shots by firing in back of length deliveries. Young was batting for the first time in India but there was hardly a sign of him being out of place and found a perfect partner in Tom Latham, whose career is built around the ability to soak up the pressure and resist the unplayable deliveries without making a fuss. If New Zealand go on to make something big in the game, the century opening stand between them will be at the forefront of their success as it has been the batting that has let them down in India in the past. Southee’s bag of tricks Tim Southee has been known as one of the purest Test match bowlers as he relies on conventional outswing to right-handers to bag most of his wickets. However, what gets downplayed is his art of using the crease and subtle variations with the seam positions that makes him lethal with the ball and keep the batsmen guessing. In conditions such as in New Zealand, where pitches offer him to bounce and plenty of swing in the air and seam movement off the surface, he has been a master of bowling outswinger to right-handers by going very wide of the crease. Years have passed, but batsmen have not been able to tackle him on that wider angle and he has worked many great batsmen over in helpful conditions. Lack of express pace has done little to deter him from becoming one of the champion bowlers of this era as he has improved at every possible opportunity with the ball in alien conditions as well. He had picked up a seven-wicket haul against India in Hyderabad on a pitch that appeared to be a batting paradise in the year 2012 and his magic is refusing to wane even in the year 2021. He got the ball to swing on the first morning and worked Cheteshwar Pujara over with a perfect delivery that shaped away from him from the line of off stump and the right-hander was not able to play the ball late which could also offer him time to leave the ball. However, he showed signs of injuring his groin and went off the field in a nervous few minutes for his skipper Williamson, who is already without the experience and variations of Trent Boult. India were challenged but they fought hard to end the first day only four-wicket down with both Iyer and Jadeja looking set for a big one and hence the onus was on Kyle Jamieson and Southee to stop India from posting an unassailable score in the first innings. The former lost his length and offered free boundaries to India but Southee left the frustrating first day behind him in a remarkable fashion. He bowled continuously from one end and found a nagging line and length to Jadeja, who could not counter his variations from round the wicket angle. He picked as many as four wickets including the wickets of Iyer and Jadeja to pegg India back and stop them at only 345 runs. With Boult missing, New Zealand were relying heavily on Southee’s shoulders and his seam position, and two days into the series, he has put his hands up in a grand manner to keep the Blackcaps in a strong position. Iyer continues his dream run Iyer looked the best batsman from India on the first day and was in touching distance of a century in the very first Test innings. He was not lost for that purpose though and played New Zealand pacers on their merit as Jamieson offered him width and half volley to cash in on and reach closer to the three-figure mark. Meanwhile, there were cluster of wickets from the other end as Southee was going through a superb spell of bowling. Iyer was cool and composed as he had become after calming down the nerves early on in his innings on the first day and reached his century in the 92nd over. Iyer has opened the pandora box for the team management with Virat Kohli returning for the second game of the series as he has now become “undroppable” after a brilliant century. His century and confidence at the crease should ring some alarm bells for Shubman Gill and Ajinkya Rahane for the tour of South Africa. Looking ahead to the third day India are in desperate need of wickets and New Zealand have come so far ahead without suffering any damage whatsoever that even one or a couple of wickets won’t serve the purpose right for the hosts. They need wickets in clusters and would be hoping for a fresh start from the spinners, who were not at their accurate best on the second day. New Zealand, on the other hand, will be baking on one of their openers to go big and score a platform setting century so that they can press on for a big score in the first innings.