IND vs NZ 2024, 3rd Test, Day 3: Rishabh Pant’s counterattack keeps India alive in Mumbai run chase
IND vs NZ 2024, 3rd Test, Day 3: India needs 55 runs to win Mumbai Test
India captain Rohit Sharma and star batter Virat Kohli flopped in the second innings in Mumbai as the hosts lost six wickets in the 147-run chase before lunch on day three. While Rohit got out miscuing the pull shot off Matt Henry, caught at mid-wicket by Glenn Phillips on 11, Ajaz Patel had Kohli’s number on just one.
Rishabh Pant completed a remarkable fifty despite wickets tumbling at the other end, with India’s scorecard reading 92/6 at lunch on day three.
India needs 55 runs to win with four wickets remaining.
Meanwhile, Rohit’s opening partner, Yashasvi Jaiswal, departed on a single-digit score (5), trapped in the front of Phillips. Patel then accounted for India's first-inning hero, Shubman Gill, cleaning his off stump on one. For the nth time in his career, Gill got out similarly, with Ajaz’s delivery going straight with the arm and knocking his off-stump.
Patel, who picked a five-for in the first innings at Wankhede this time - where he bagged ten wickets in an inning the last time they played, removed Sarfaraz Khan on one to put India’s back against the wall. The left-arm orthodox also removed Sarfaraz in the first inning, with India’s domestic giant looking clueless against the turning ball.
However, Rishabh Pant’s counterattack and a 42-run stand with Ravindra Jadeja have kept India alive in this run-chase.
Jadeja stars with the ball in the hand
Ravindra Jadeja looked off-colour for most of this series; however, he upped his game during the final Test in Mumbai, returning with ten wickets in the match – five in each innings.
After returning with five for 65 in the first innings with New Zealand getting all out on 235, Jadeja picked as many wickets in the second, accounting for NZ’s final wicket on day three on the second last ball of his first over.
With the Kiwis getting all out on 174, India needed a target of 147 to win the match and save themselves from the embarrassment of getting whitewashed at home in Tests for the first time.
