Ganesh Kendale
NEW DELHI: India registered an unfortunate feat on Friday after being bowled out for just 156 in the first innings of the second Test against New Zealand at the MCA Stadium in Pune. The collapse handed New Zealand a commanding 103-run lead, after the visitors posted 259 on Day 1.
This marks the second consecutive home Test where India has conceded a lead of over 100 runs in a series, an occurrence not seen in 23 years.
Scorecard: India vs New Zealand, 2nd Test
In the previous Test in Bengaluru, India suffered a shocking collapse, being bowled out for a paltry 46, their lowest home total, and conceding a massive 356-run lead to the visitors. This led to India losing the match by 8 wickets.
The last time India gave away 100-plus leads in back-to-back home Tests was in 2001 against Australia, where they conceded 173 runs at Wankhede and 274 at Eden Gardens.
Despite this unwanted record, India famously came back to win that series against Australia, and they will be hoping for a similar resurgence in this series against New Zealand.
The second Test started positively for India, with Washington Sundar returning career-best figures of 7/59 to bowl out New Zealand for 259. However, India’s batting faltered on Day 1, with captain
Rohit Sharma falling for a duck, leaving the hosts at 16/1 overnight.
On Day 2, India’s top-order, featuring Shubman Gill (30) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (30), looked steady, taking the score to 50/1 before Gill was trapped LBW by Mitchell Santner. From there, India crumbled, losing nine wickets for 106 runs in just over 24 overs. Santner led the charge for New Zealand with his career-best figures of 7 for 53, and Ravindra Jadeja’s late effort of 38 off 46 balls was the only notable resistance.
With New Zealand securing a substantial first-innings lead, India now face a difficult task to stay competitive in the match and series.
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