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Ind Vs Nz 2Nd Test Day 2 Mohammed Siraj Ashwin Demolish Blackcaps To Lowest Total Against India

IND vs NZ | 2nd Test, Day 2: Mohammed Siraj, Ashwin demolish Blackcaps to lowest total against India

After a commanding batting performance on the back of a fabulous 150 from Mayank Agarwal, India bundled New Zealand out for a mere 62 in the first innings of the second Test being played in Mumbai. It was New Zealand's lowest total against India in the longest format.

Mohammed Siraj started the rout with three top-order wickets of Will Young, Tom Latham and Ross Taylor before the spinners came into action and dismantled any hopes of Kiwis’ revival in the game. No Kiwi batsman could bat for more than 36 balls and Kyle Jamieson was the only batsman to cross the 15-run mark in what turned out to be a shambolic batting performance.

Ravichandran Ashwin was superb with his variety and control, and was the most successful Indian bowler with four wickets. Axar Patel was also on the money and picked two wickets while Jayant Yadav, who has returned to Test cricket after a gap of four years, picked up one wicket.

India achieved a big lead of 263 runs in the first innings and have decided against calling New Zealand for follow on. The pitch is only going to deteriorate further and hence the team management opted to make full use of the opportunity to bat New Zealand out of the game rather than bringing their spinners in the game by batting fourth.

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It's surreal to achieve such a feat: Ajaz Patel on picking up 10-fer against India

New Zealand spinner Ajaz Patel etched his name in record book after he scalped a ten-for against India in the first innings of the second Test in Mumbai. Patel is only the third bowler after Jim Laker and Anil Kumble to achieve the feat. Talking about his performance after the end of the second session on Day 2 at the Wankhede Stadium, Patel expressed his delight and said that it is special to achieve something of that sorts. “Quite a special occasion for me and not just me but my family. Unfortunately for me, they're not here because of Covid. Honestly, it's surreal and to be able to do that in my career is pretty special. The stars have aligned for me to do it in Mumbai,” he said. “I'm in very illustrious company with Kumble sir as well. Obviously, not a great start for us, but we have a few boys in the shed and put on some runs. Not anyone in particular and just trying to be repetitive and ask questions (which wicket did you enjoy more?),” the left-arm spinner added. Talking about the match, the home side was bowled out for 325 in the first innings but the bowlers rattled New Zealand’s batting line up to reduce them to 38/6 before the conclusion of the second session.

IND vs NZ | 2nd Test, Day 2: Fiery Mohammed Siraj wipes out New Zealand top order in new ball spell

A fiery Mohammed Siraj wiped out the New Zealand top order in the afternoon session of the second day of the second Test in Mumbai. He was in perfect rhythm and bowled his heart out and as per plan to dismiss Will Young, Tom Latham and Ross Taylor in his three overs. He dismissed Latham on the last ball of his second over and bowled Taylor neck and crop on the first ball of the third over to get close to taking a Test hat-trick, which he missed by a margin of a few centimetres. He trapped Henry Nicholls in front of the wicket but the ball was pitched outside the line of the leg stump and hence was denied the wicket and the hat-trick. He was bowling at a rapid pace as well and took two of his three wickets so far by squaring up the batsmen Young and Taylor. Young was edged to Kohl at second slip while Taylor’s off-stump was uprooted from the ground. He had a deep square leg placed for Latham, who has shown some signs of weakness against rapid short deliveries, and he bowled at the perfect height and angle and holed him out to Shreyas Iyer at the only deep fielder. New Zealand have been rocked hard with the new ball even before India introduced spin in the form of Axar Patel.

IND vs NZ | 2nd Test, Day 2: Axar Patel hits first Test fifty to propel India past 300

Axar Patel his maiden fifty in the Test match cricket to bail India out of a tricky situation in the morning session of the second day of the second Test against New Zeland in Mumbai. He walked out to bat when Ajaz Patel was going through his purple patch with the ball and was on a hat-trick having dismissed Wriddhiman Saha and Ravichandran Ashwin on consecutive deliveries. He was very controlled in his approach and did not take any risk whatsoever and stitched a valuable partnership worth more than 50 runs with Mayank Agarwal, who was batting past his hundred. After his departure, Axar took a liking to William Somerville and hit him for a four and a classy six over extra cover to open up his shoulders. His runs were crucial for India as they were without Ravindra Jadeja and especially after the twin failures of Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli. His time will come with the ball, but his fifty has propelled India past the 300-run mark which could be a determining factor in the game as the surface at Wankhede Stadium is offering a lot of turns and bounce from the line of stumps. He has been known for his deadly accuracy and it would be tough to deal with for the Blackcaps batsmen.

India's tour of South Africa split into two, teams to play only Tests and ODIs on upcoming tour

The upcoming India tour of South Africa has been split into two halves and the men in blue will complete the pre-decided schedule on two tours. On the upcoming tour, they will play three Tests and three ODIs against South Africa while the T20Is between the two sides will be played later on, PTI reported citing BCCI Secretary Jay Shah. There were speculations that the BCCI would ask the CSA to cut short the Test series from a three-match long series to a two-game series and compensate the financial losses with additional T20Is. However, the latest development will come in as a relief for the South Africa cricket mired in financial turmoil in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic. The tour came under serious doubt after the emergence of a new variant of Covid-19 virus in the country and as per media reports, it has led to a multifold increase in the number of cases in the Gauteng province which house the Wanderers stadium where two of the three-Test matches have been scheduled to be played.