Despite being at 162/6 at one stage, New Zealand managed to post 249 runs on the board.
The fifth day of the ongoing World Test Championship (WTC) Final between India and New Zealand has witnessed some high quality cricket. India have managed to stage a stunning comeback thanks to their bowlers, especially Mohammed Shami, who have restricted New Zealand to a decent total. However, the fact that the Kiwis could take a slender lead in the first innings was due to their lower order.
They were struggling at 162/6 at one stage when Colin de Grandhomme was pinned in front of the stumps by Shami. But from here on, they managed to muster more than 80 runs. Even though their skipper Kane Williamson was in the middle, he wasn’t scoring many. It was Kyle Jamieson who changed the momentum once again, this time with the bat.
Tim Southee also hangs in the middle
After him, Tim Southee walked out to bat and even he spent enough time in the middle even after Williamson got out. Rather Southee smacked a couple of brilliant sixes and mustered 30 runs off 46 balls with a four and two sixes. Neil Wagner was the only exception among the last four to not contribute a run as Ravi Ashwin bluffed him to be caught at slip.
Even Trent Boult smacked a boundary off Shami to remain unbeaten on seven runs as New Zealand were bowled out for 249 runs, leading by 32 crucial runs in the first innings. The Indian fans were hopeful of the Kiwis getting skittled for a low score after a phenomenal first session. However, the tail wagged yet again and New Zealand managed to take a lead.
On the contrary, India’s last four wickets fell only for 12 runs and in seven overs which restricted their score to only 217 runs. At one stage, they looked good to go past 250 easily. Only if India’s tail would’ve wagged, the 32-run lead could’ve been curtailed. Having said that, India’s bowlers bowled superbly to make sure the game hasn’t gone out of hands. But the fans are certainly disappointed with the old habit coming back to bite the team.
