India’s Virat Kohli dives in vain to prevent being run out by New Zealand’s Matt Henry during the first day of the third Test at Wankhede Stadium, in Mumbai. (AP Photo)
It was all looking rosy for India at the end of a hot day in Mumbai. They had put in the hard work on the field after losing the toss, and were all set to finish proceedings with a firm grasp on the match… and then, as Ravi Shastri put it on air, ‘harakiri’ followed.
17.2: Yashasvi Jaiswal 30 (52) b Ajaz Patel, India 78/2: Once more, Jaiswal looked good in the middle and seemed to have things under control when he decided to bring out the reverse sweep to a ball from Ajaz Patel that pitched outside his leg stump. A conventional sweep would have served him better but he had made up his mind so much in advance that he went through with it. The ball sneaked underneath and crashed into the stumps.
India’s Yashasvi Jaiswal is bowled out by New Zealand’s Aijaz Patel during the first day of the third cricket test match between India and New Zealand at Wankhede Stadium, in Mumbai, India, Friday, Nov. 1, 2024.(AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade)
17.3: Mohammed Siraj 0 (1) lbw Ajaz Patel, India 78/3: Firstly, a strange choice for a night-watchman. The primary role for someone sent up the order is to save the batter to follow. Siraj might be a hard-working cricketer but why the management thought he could handle these conditions even for 10 minutes is hard to fathom. And then, to top it all, he used up a review as well after being hit plumb in front.
18.3: Virat Kohli 4(6) Run Out Matt Henry, India 84/4: And then the big brain fade. Virat Kohli was already involved in a poorly-judged run out in Pune where both he and Rishabh Pant were too eager for a quick single, ending in the dismissal of the latter, just when India would have fancied their chances in the run-chase. On Friday, he plotted his own downfall, taking off after tapping the ball to Matt Henry at mid-on. His dive wasn’t the cleanest either and Kohli shot himself in the foot.
In just 10 minutes, the entire complexion of the third Test changed. India were the architects of their own woes.
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