NEW DELHI: New Zealand must have returned to the pavilion brimming with confidence after dismissing the well-set Virat Kohli on the final ball of the day 3 of the first Test at M Chinnaswamy stadium in Bengaluru on Friday.
Kohli’s dismissal, caught behind by Tom Blundell off Glenn Phillips, left India at 231 for three at stumps, trailing New Zealand by 125 runs.
Kohli reached the milestone of 9,000 Test runs during his innings and shared a 136-run stand with Sarfaraz Khan, who remained unbeaten on 70 at the close.
New Zealand’s star Rachin Ravindra, who scored a brilliant 134 off 157 balls and built a crucial 137-run partnership with Tim Southee (65), expressed confidence in New Zealand’s position despite Kohli’s resistance.
India vs New Zealand Test: Focus returns on India batters after high-scoring day
“Virat is obviously a great player, he punished us but we’ve still got a lot of runs to play with,” Ravindra said after the match.
“Was just trying to build partnerships. That partnership with Tim (Southee) really helped me out, the objective was clear and we knew what we needed to do. (On Bengaluru) It’s a little bit comforting although the wicket is completely different, nice knowing the surroundings,” he said.
New Zealand, after bowling out India for 46 with Matt Henry’s five-for and William O’Rourke’s four wickets, posted 402, taking a commanding lead of 356 runs, thanks to Ravindra’s century.
“It’s a lovely wicket to bat. Not really superstitious. Great to have him (his father) here, it’s his hometown, also have some family here. Great crowd here as well. I actually took the whole booklet (of ticket allocations),” Ravindra said.
Ravindra clobbered 13 fours and four sixes in his knock.