KANPUR: Debutant Rachin Ravindra and number 11 batsman Ajaz Patel combined in a stunning rearguard to secure New Zealand’s thrilling draw in the opening Test against India on Monday.

Chasing 284 for victory on a final day surface, New Zealand were in tatters at 155-9 with at least eight overs to go and the light steadily fading at Kanpur’s Green Park Stadium.

Their last batting pair of Ravindra and Patel faced relentless spin from both ends with a shoal of close-in fielders around the bat but managed to survive the last 52 balls to deny India.

“I suppose the beauty of Test cricket really, where there can be a lot of excitement,” New Zealand captain Kane Williamson said of what he called “an exciting day”.

“Terrific game overall. All three results were still at play. We showed a lot of heart to bat through the day. Obviously when the win was out of the question, a draw is the next best option to try and fight for, and there was a lot of effort going into trying to achieve that.

“Rachin in his first Test match and Ajaz as well showed a lot of character to bat those few overs there against high-quality, world class spin as the light was dimming.”

After a wicketless morning session, seamer Umesh Yadav struck with the first ball after lunch to break the 76-run stand between overnight batsmen Will Somerville and Tom Latham.

Somerville had walked out as nightwatchman after Will Young’s late dismissal on Sunday but played like a specialist batsman for his 36 off 110 balls.

His dismissal opened the floodgates for India’s three-pronged spin attack.

Ravichandran Ashwin (3-35) cut short Latham’s industrious knock of 52 and Ravindra Jadeja (4-40) dismissed veteran Ross Taylor on the stroke of tea.

The onus was on Williamson to save the match but the New Zealand captain fell for 24, trapped leg before by a Jadeja delivery that kept low.

Axar Patel had Henry Nicholls (1) dismissed lbw and New Zealand’s middle order put up little resistance as Ashwin bowled Tom Blundell (2).

Kyle Jamieson (5) and Tim Southee (4) helped Ravindra eat up 11 overs before falling to Jadeja and there were just 10.4 overs remaining in the day.

The umpires checked fading light repeatedly but play carried on as India deployed seven fielders around the bat but were still thwarted by the over-my-body defiance from Ravindra and Patel until the dramatic call-off with approximately two overs remaining.

Ravindra faced 91 balls for his 18 not out, while Patel survived 23 balls to stay unbeaten on two.

“Ravindra showed great composure [and] Ajaz Patel with his defence,” said Ashwin, who moved to 419 wickets past Harbhajan Singh’s 417 and became the third on India’s all-time list after Anil Kumble (619) and Kapil Dev (434). “Everybody hangs in there, everybody can defend well these days.”

Debutant Shreyas Iyer stood out for India with his 105 and 65 in India’s 345 and 237-4 declared.

Iyer was named man of the match for his batting heroics after India won the toss and elected to bat first on a pitch that stayed low and slow but held on for five days.

“I am really happy for Shreyas. He had to wait a long time for his Test debut. He batted really well,” said India’s stand-in captain Ajinkya Rahane. “The way he works, his record in first class cricket is really good.”

It was the first Test between the sides since New Zealand triumphed in the World Test Championship final in June.

India fielded a depleted squad for the match with several frontline players either rested or recuperating — including regular skipper Virat Kohli, who will return for the second and final Test which starts in Mumbai on Friday.

Scoreboard

INDIA (1st Innings) 345

NEW ZEALAND (1st Innings) 296

INDIA (2nd Innings) 234-7 declared

NEW ZEALAND (2nd Innings; overnight 4-1):

T. Latham b Ashwin 52

W. Young lbw b Ashwin 2

W. Somerville c Gill b Yadav 36

K. Williamson lbw b Jadeja 24

R. Taylor lbw b Jadeja 2

H. Nicholls lbw b Patel 1

T. Blundell b Ashwin 2

R. Ravindra not out 18

K. Jamieson lbw b Jadeja 5

T. Southee lbw b Jadeja 4

A. Patel not out 2

EXTRAS (B-12, LB-1, NB-4) 17

TOTAL (for nine wkts, 98 overs) 165

FALL OF WICKETS: 1-3 (Young), 2-79 (Somerville), 3-118 (Latham), 4-125 (Taylor), 5-126 (Nicholls), 6-128 (Williamson), 7-138 (Blundell), 8-147 (Jamieson), 9-155 (Southee).

BOWLING: Ashwin 30-12-35-3, Patel

21-12-23-1, Yadav 12-2-34-1, Sharma

7-1-20-0 (nb2), Jadeja 28-10-40-4 (nb2).

RESULT: Match drawn

UMPIRES: Nitin Menon and Virender Sharma (India).

TV UMPIRE: Anil Chaudhary (India).

MATCH REFEREE: Javagal Srinath (India).

Published in Dawn, November 30th, 2021