Haren
Before the 28th over of the New Zealand second innings, there was a stat on the broadcast that showed how no wickets fell in either of the first innings between overs 21 and 30. In the first innings of the match, it was Will Young and Daryl Mitchell who were seeing through that phase for the visitors, and once again the two right-handers were doing a rebuilding job. The partnership had just hit the 50-mark and on a worsening pitch, the partnership was starting to hurt India.
And then, India made the move to change ends for Ravindra Jadeja and bring him on from the end where he (and New Zealand’s Ajaz Patel) had done some serious damage already. And the move paid off immediately, with Jadeja enticing a false stroke from Mitchell.
But that was only one part of the equation. When Mitchell stepped down the track to target one of his favourite areas – straight down the ground – the idea was right, and the shot was on. The ball hit the toe of the bat and went a long way up in the air. Then Ashwin Ravichandran took off. He didn’t just run backwards to try and make up the ground, because when a fielder does that, it is easy to lose sight of the arc. So Ashwin ran side on, and as a graphic showed later, covered a distance of 19m in quick time. He put out both his hands and completed a stunning catch to leave Mitchell distraught.
Runs backwards
Keeps his eyes 👀 on the ball
Completes an outstanding catch 👍Sensational stuff from R Ashwin! 👏 👏
Live ▶️ https://t.co/KNIvTEy04z#TeamIndia | #INDvNZ | @ashwinravi99 | @IDFCFIRSTBank pic.twitter.com/ONmRJWPk8t
— BCCI (@BCCI) November 2, 2024
“The captaincy was excellent too. The change of ends for Jadeja first, and then to keep Ashwin up at mid on to entice Mitchell to go for the shot. New Zealand dropped two catches early in the day at long on, while India have taken a brilliant catch. It could be a massive moment in this match, such a crucial dismissal,” commentator Ian Smith said on air.
“Ashwin watched the ball all the way into his hands while the ones that NZ dropped earlier, the eyes weren’t on the ball,” former India coach Ravi Shastri added.
