What a game. Serious test for both teams. Really testing pitch for batters and bowlers. The bowlers usually have the upper hand on Day 5 but wasn’t the case. India pushed really hard for the victory but the light didn’t allow the 12-13 minutes of play left in the day. Rachin Ravindra has done a brilliant job holding fort for his side on debut. So the day started so well for the visitors with Latham and Somerville playing out a wicketless morning session. Both looked so assured in their defence and the slowness of the surface meant the Indian spinners weren’t getting the bite that they usually would on a Day 5 pitch. But batting wasn’t easy as the rest of the New Zealand batters found out once Umesh opened the door first ball after lunch by bouncing Somerville out. Only Williamson and Ravindra got to double figures from then on as Ashwin, Jadeja and Axar spun a web. India did start the final session by getting quick wickets, but if you had a good defence, the pitch played well enough for you to negotiate the bowling.
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