Pant and Gill hit top gear to help India close the gap

LunchIndia 195 for 5 (Gill 70*, Jadeja 10*, Ajaz 2-76) trail New Zealand 235 by 40 runs

Rishabh Pant and Shubman Gill woke India up to a better second morning after the nightmare in the final 10 minutes of day one. They added 96 at better than five an over, helping bring India within 40 of New Zealand’s 235 with five wickets in hand by lunch. Pant, in particular, was severe, scoring India’s quickest half-century against New Zealand – in just 36 balls – and not letting the lead spinner Ajaz Patel bowl to his plans.

New Zealand didn’t help themselves, dropping both the batters on 45 (Gill) and 53 (Pant). Pant’s missed chance didn’t cost New Zealand too much as he fell lbw for 60 to Ish Sodhi. Sodhi had been introduced into the attack when the deficit had already come down to 84 and bowled bowled two overs of half-volleys and long hops before settling into a rhythm. Glenn Phillips was then unlucky man to be denied the two wickets.

Pant, 1 off 1 overnight, began as he meant to go on. Ajaz was too full first ball of the day, which Pant push-drove straight of mid-off, who moved deeper after the boundary. To the second ball, Pant stepped out, and drilled it straight of that deep mid-off, who now moved to long-off. Gill joined him with an inside-out chip over extra cover in Ajaz’s next over.

Then Pant played the lap shot for four to push forward short leg to behind square, promptly offering what could have been catches for the forward short leg the following two balls. It was Pant’s attacking mindset that had forced New Zealand to choose one of the two areas to man. Pant rubbed it in with two sixes in Ajaz’s next two overs.

Gill didn’t want to be left behind. He tried to hit Phillips’ first ball of the day for a six but ended up skying it to long-on where the substitute fielder Mark Chapman gave him a reprieve. That proved to be a turning point in Gill’s innings, he proceeded to put his head down and only take the boundaries on offer thereafter. He was 45 off 57 when dropped, but went into lunch on 70 off 106.

Pant doesn’t slow down. He merely takes a moment to regroup. He proceeded to pick a Sodhi googly and drive it through extra cover for four. Once Sodhi found his length, though, he was not so easy to hit. However, it was the shorter balls that were misbehaving, mostly harmlessly. For Pant, one happened to be on target and got him lbw, clipping the leg stump.

Ravindra Jadeja was promoted to maintain the right-left combination going, and he and Gill saw India through with a sedate 15-run stand before a stuck Spidercam forced an early lunch.