IND vs NZ: Gill, Pant and spinners hand India edge on Day 2 of Mumbai Test

Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant’s 97-run stand and a demolition job from the spinners ensured that India took control of the Mumbai Test at stumps on Day 2. New Zealand ended the day’s play on Saturday, November 2, at 171 for 9 with a lead of 143 runs. Gill scored a patient 90 off 146 balls, while Pant took apart the bowling in the first session with 60 off 59 balls as India took a 28-run lead after Ajaz Patel starred with the ball once again for New Zealand at the Wankhede.
After the work from the batters, Jadeja, Ashwin and Sundar would run through the New Zealand batting order to put India in the driver’s seat at the end of play. Jadeja took 4 and Ashwin got 3 wickets and Sundar 1. India had started the day at 86 for 4 after the collapse that saw the end of play on Friday. The pressure was on Gill and Pant early on with what happened on Day 1, but the Indian wicketkeeper would set the tone and wrestle control for the hosts.
Pant hit Ajaz for consecutive boundaries off the first 2 balls and he would add another one in the same over to give India the ideal start. Gill, on the other hand, was calmness personified at the other end as he was focused on rotating the strike. Pant would go on a rampage as he would end up hitting 8 boundaries and 2 sixes in the first session on his way to his 50 off just 36 balls, a record in India vs New Zealand matches. India were going at 6 an over in the first hour of the game at one point. However, both Gill and Pant were given lives by New Zealand with some sloppy fielding.
India vs New Zealand, 3rd Test Day 2: Highlights | Scorecard
First, Mark Chapman had dropped Gill when he was on 45 in what seemed like a straightforward chance. Gill would then go on to score his 50 off just 66 balls. The next one would see Matt Henry miss the chance to dismiss Pant as he would also drop a good catch. However, Sodhi would end the wicketkeeper’s stay with a good delivery and trapping him in front of the stumps. This ended the 97-run stand between Pant and Gill that gave India control in the morning session.
Jadeja and Gill would see India into lunch in a good spot at 195 for 5, as they trailed by just 40 runs. However, Ajaz Patel would spin his magic after the Lunch break to ensure India didn’t run away with the game completely.
The Indian batting order started to crumble as Jadeja was first dismissed by Glenn Phillips before Ajaz dismissed Sarfaraz Khan, who came in at 8, for a duck. Washington Sundar and Gill tried to stabilise the innings, with the star batter taking the attack to Philips and then trying to defend against Ajaz.
However, the New Zealand spinner would have the last laugh as he got Gill out for 90. The onus then fell on Sundar, who would flex his muscles and hit 38 off 36 balls, but Ajaz completed his 5-wicket haul and India were bundled out for 263 in the end.
The New Zealand 2nd innings got off to the worst possible start as Tom Latham had his stumps wrecked by a brilliant delivery. Devon Conway and Will Young ensured India’s lead of 28 was reduced to just 2 by the time tea came around. The Blackcaps would take the lead soon after the restart but Conway and Rachin Ravindra got out in quick succession.
Conway knicked on to slips off Sundar while Rachin got stumped as he tried to attack Ashwin. With New Zealand on the back foot, they turned to their rocks from the first innings in the form of Young and Daryl Mitchell.
The duo would add a 50-run stand to add some pressure on the Indian team with some solid defence and big shots. However, a sensational catch from Ashwin saw Mitchell head back to the pavilion as Jadeja brought India back into the contest.
The left-arm spinner would then account for Tom Blundell as New Zealand were 100 for 5 and in deep trouble. Glenn Phillips entertained the crowd with some lusty blows and scored 26 off 13 balls. This included 2 sixes off Ashwin’s over but a carrom ball ended the entertainment from Phillips.
India were bouncing at this point but Young would slowly add to the scorecard and hit his 2nd fifty of the game. But Jadeja’s dismissal of Ish Sodhi left him without dependable partners and this proved to be his undoing as he was dismissed by another carrom ball from Ashwin, who found form at the right time.
A couple of lusty blows from Henry and Ajaz would put the match on a knife-edge heading into Day 3 on Sunday. But Jadeja would put New Zealand on the brink as he picked up Henry with the final ball of the day.
When Gill was given the job of being No.3, many didn’t know if the young batter had it in him to pull it off. Replacing a legend like Cheteshwar Pujara is no easy task as he had masterminded many big wins by defending teams into submission.
But Gill wasn’t in the same mold as Pujara and was someone who was naturally aggressive and still accumulated runs, especially in white-ball cricket. While Yashasvi Jaiswal has been India’s highest run-getter in the calendar year, Gill would slowly fly under the radar.
And this is what the young batter did in the Mumbai Test as well. Gill kept rotating the strike as Pant went berserk and slowly would get to his fifty. The biggest change in Gill’s batting from Pune was the way he tackled the spin attack and those small changes within the series thrilled the likes of Simon Doull. He has changed his trigger movement against spin by taking a half step against the bowlers.
Gill now has 805 runs in 10 Tests this year and has an average above 50. With the Border-Gavaskar Trophy on the horizon, Gill’s constantly improving batting will be key and it will be crucial during the run-chase as well.
If given the chance, Ajaz would carry a bit of the Wankhede pitch back home to New Zealand. The spinner, who has his roots firmly in Mumbai, had picked up a 10-wicket haul the last time he was at the Wankehde and followed it up with another 5 wickets on Saturday.
Ajaz would pick up just 4 wickets in the 2 matches so far and needed to step up after Pune hero Mitchell Santner was ruled out due to an injury. The left-arm spinner has now scalped 19 wickets from three innings at the Wankhede Stadium at an average of 17.26. If New Zealand want to win the match, they will need some Ajaz magic in the second innings as well as the Wankhede pitch is pulling off its mischief.