Haren
Under the gloomy Bengaluru skyline, New Zealand recorded a rare and famous victory in India. When William Young cut Ravindra Jadeja for a boundary to surpass the meagre target of 107 by eight wickets and celebrated deliriously, this was only the third time in 37 Tests and 55 years they had tasted success in this country. The wheels of the win were set in motion once they bundled out India for 46 in the first innings, but they showed commendable tenacity to fight back from a slippery juncture with the bat in their first dig as well as with the second new ball on the fourth evening to wrap up their first win in India in 36 years.
But the day began with clouds and optimism for the hosts. The second ball of the day raised hopes of a miraculous comeback. Jasprit Bumrah inevitably designed it. After a rip-roaring away swinger, he snuck the ball back in to blast Tom Latham plumb in front. Everyone appealed, from Bumrah to the slips-men to the animated crowd, intensely donning the 12th-man role, intimidating the visitors. The moment gave a fillip to India’s cause, even though the appearance of the sun disappointed them.
Everyone prayed the sun would hide beneath the cloudy foam. The new ball has behaved differently under sun and clouds. In the gloom, it has spelt doom for batsmen; under the sun’s gaze, it has behaved like an orderly child. Besides, the sun would cleanse the surface of all its juice and make it pancake-flat. New Zealand were just a few cameos away from knocking off 107 runs.
Siraj, after gifting a leg-side four, made one ball cut across Devon Conway. It flew close to the shoulder of the blade, but eluded the edge. The left-handed flirted at the next ball, but again the edge refused to bite. In the next over, Bumrah’s short- of-length delivery reared up and slapped Conway’s gloves. But he took the bottom hand off, soaking the venom of the ball, which fell in no man’s land. The crowd gasped in agony.
Tough test
Conway lived dangerously — Bumrah repeatedly beat him, when attacking or defending — but he was living no less. With light hands, he expertly doused another lifter. India kept a squeeze on the scoring — only nine runs were mustered in the first seven overs — as the visitors sweated for every run, but only wickets could lift India.
The wicket, like the weather, played a cruel game of Jekyll and Hyde with India. For much of the new-ball spell, the sun smiled on New Zealand, but it retreated behind the cloudy veil when their tilt was about to end.
In circumstances such as these, New Zealand knew it was only about surviving the new-ball spell, hanging on without colossal damage. The red sphere would turn friendlier when the shine wanes. But India persevered. Bumrah seamed the ball either way, beating both edges of Young and Conway. Siraj made the occasional ball misbehave. But the deeper the game went on without a heap of wickets, the odds on an Indian victory were being slashed like the stock market index during a recession.
Invariably, Bumrah struck to keep India’s hopes afloat in his seventh over. He hammered Conway on the pads, the ball fizzing low, from around the stumps. The umpire disapproved, but Rohit Sharma instantly reviewed to overturn the decision.
Hope sprouted again, but Rachin Ravindra, the first innings saviour, stroked a couple of boundaries to release the pressure. On cue, the sun peeped out, presaging heartbreak for Indian souls.
A shuffle of bowlers was inevitable. Siraj, tiring in the last two overs, made way for Ravindra Jadeja. Young, beaten when cutting, riposted with a pair of fours that rang in New Zealand’s fifty. Soon, Bumrah too was withdrawn from the attack after an exceptional eight-over shift. By then, an Indian victory was only a delusion. Young and Ravindra motored along, smuggling singles and taking on Kuldeep Yadav, to wrap up a rare and famous win.
