InningsIndia 263 (Gill 90, Pant 60, Ajaz 5-103) lead New Zealand 235 by 28 runs
India ended up with a slender advantage; it could have been bigger had Ajaz not finally got his act together. Having gone at nearly six an over in his first 13 overs, Ajaz found the good length and the right pace after lunch; he bowled the first maiden of the day at the start of the second session. The unfortunate Glenn Phillips, who had had two catches dropped off him in the first session, held his end up to give New Zealand their best spell of spin from both ends all series.
The results followed. Ravindra Jadeja poked at a length ball from Phillips and edged to slip. Sarfaraz Khan couldn’t open his account as the other Mumbai-born man on the field, Ajaz, pinned him to the crease and then took the edge.
At this point, no boundary had been hit since Rishabh Pant got out with the team score 180 in the 38th over. More than 10 overs had gone without a boundary, and Gill now upped his intent by taking on Phillips. However, Ajaz eventually got one to turn from a good length and take the edge for another catch to Daryl Mitchell at slip. Gill fell 10 short of what could have been his most mature hundred.
Washington took over now, scoring 14 in a 20-run stand with R Ashwin and all of the 16 runs in the final stand with Akash Deep. Sharp out cricket got New Zealand the last6 wicket, denying Washington manipulation of the strike and running Deep out.
LunchIndia 195 for 5 (Gill 70*, Jadeja 10*, Ajaz 2-76) trail New Zealand 235 by 40 runs
New Zealand didn’t help themselves, dropping both the batters on 45 (Gill) and 53 (Pant). Pant’s missed chance didn’t cost New Zealand too much as he fell lbw for 60 to Ish Sodhi. Sodhi had been introduced into the attack when the deficit had already come down to 84 and bowled bowled two overs of half-volleys and long hops before settling into a rhythm. Glenn Phillips was then unlucky man to be denied the two wickets.
Pant, 1 off 1 overnight, began as he meant to go on. Ajaz was too full first ball of the day, which Pant push-drove straight of mid-off, who moved deeper after the boundary. To the second ball, Pant stepped out, and drilled it straight of that deep mid-off, who now moved to long-off. Gill joined him with an inside-out chip over extra cover in Ajaz’s next over.
Then Pant played the lap shot for four to push forward short leg to behind square, promptly offering what could have been catches for the forward short leg the following two balls. It was Pant’s attacking mindset that had forced New Zealand to choose one of the two areas to man. Pant rubbed it in with two sixes in Ajaz’s next two overs.
Gill didn’t want to be left behind. He tried to hit Phillips’ first ball of the day for a six but ended up skying it to long-on where the substitute fielder Mark Chapman gave him a reprieve. That proved to be a turning point in Gill’s innings, he proceeded to put his head down and only take the boundaries on offer thereafter. He was 45 off 57 when dropped, but went into lunch on 70 off 106.
Pant doesn’t slow down. He merely takes a moment to regroup. He proceeded to pick a Sodhi googly and drive it through extra cover for four. Once Sodhi found his length, though, he was not so easy to hit. However, it was the shorter balls that were misbehaving, mostly harmlessly. For Pant, one happened to be on target and got him lbw, clipping the leg stump.
Ravindra Jadeja was promoted to maintain the right-left combination going, and he and Gill saw India through with a sedate 15-run stand before a stuck Spidercam forced an early lunch.
Sidharth Monga is a senior writer at ESPNcricinfo
