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Team India bowlers had a daunting task when the proceedings started on Day 3 of the ongoing first Te🌳st against🐼 New Zealand at Green Park in Kanpur. The visitors resumed their overnight s𝓰core of 129/0, and soon New Zealand completed 150 without any loss.
Ravichandran Ashwin drew the first blood by dismissing opener Will Young. India’s stand-in wicketkeeper for the day, Srikar Bharat, caught the low catch of Young, who got disඣmissed for a well made 89 runs.
Then, Tom Latham and Kane Williamson formed another crucial stand for the second wicket. The pair added 46 runs before Umesh Yadav got rid of New Zealand skipper for 18. The dismissal of Williamson opened﷽ floodgates as the tourists lost their remaining eight wickets for ꧃99 runs to eventually get all-out for 296 in their first innings.
Axar Patel was the chief architect behind the New Zealand bat🦹ting collapse as he went on to take a 🥀five-wicket haul. The left-armer grabbed five wickets for 62 in 34 overs. Similarly, Ashwin also bowled brilliantly and picked up three scalps for 82 in 42.3 overs.
Most five-wicket hauls in first four Tests:
- 6 – Charlie Turner
- 5 – Tom Richardson/ Rodney Hogg/ Axar Patel
- 4 – Fred Spofforth/ Syd Barnes/ Nick Cook/ Vernon Philander
Previous most for India: three each by L Sivaramakrishnan & Narendra Hirwani
The home team, however, lost opener Shubman Gill, who smashed a splendid half-century during India’s first innings, for a solitary score. The umpires called the stumps as India managed to score 14/1 in five overs, leading New Zealand by 63 runs.
Here is how Twitter reacted:
Axar Patel—Test debu♛tant of the year. Without a shadow of doubt. Anoth🎀er 5-fer.
— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash)
Brilliant effort from the Indian bowlers to restrict the Kiwis to 296. Dream run in Tests continues for Axar Patel. 5 Five wicket haul in his first 4 Tests is an extraordinary effort. India need to bat well tomorrow & a lead of 225-250 will be challenging 🦩for the Kiwis.
— VVS Laxman (@VVSLaxman281)
Axar with a fifer! His fifth five wicket haul in four Test matches. Love to see it!ღ Far out he is goo🐼d!🔥
— Chloe-Amanda Bailey (@ChloeAmandaB)
Very well bowled I'm sure you're gonna sleep well tonight 😄
— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14)
Axar Bapu every𓂃time India needed෴ a wicket today 😋
— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals)
Fastest New Zealander to 50 Test wickets:
Kyle Jamieson – 9 matches (1y 278d)
Shane Bond – 12 matches (3y 266d)Nobody else has reached the milestone in less than 13 Tඣests.
— Nic Savage (@nic_savage1)
Only three bowlers in Test hi🌠story have taken a 5-wicket haul in each🥂 of the first 4 Tests
Charlie Turner (debut 1887)
Tom Richardson (debut 1893)
Axar Patel (debut 2021)— Mazher Arshad (@MazherArshad)
Day 3, Stumps: India – 14/1, leading New Zealand by 63 runs.
— betvisa68.com (@CricketTimesHQ)
Fewest matches by a spinner to take 5 five-wicket hauls in Test c𒁃ricket:
4 – AXAR PATEL🇮🇳
7 – Herbert Hordern🇦🇺
8 – R Ashwin🇮🇳
8 – Alf Valentine🏝️
8 – Clarrie Grimmett🇦🇺— Kausthub Gudipati (@kaustats)
