The Test series between Team India and New Zealand ended in a draw in Kanpur. The host posted 345 runs in their first innings before successfully restricting the Kiwis within 296 runs. Later, they set a target of 284 runs as well. And, New Zealand survived India’s spin threat and registered a draw. The second Test will begin on December 3 in Mumbai as well.
Debutant Shreyas Iyer smashed a hundred along with a fifty in the second innings. After the match, he won the Player of the Match award as well. He said: “It’s a great feeling, but would been the icing on the cake if we had won the game. You can see that the pitch is still intact. We bowled really well. Mindset was to play sessions and play as many balls as possible. People say I am a flamboyant player, don’t curb my instincts, but I was just looking to play as many balls. Enjoyed batting with Ashwin and Saha. Happy with the overall performance of the team. The pressure is always there. They got off to a great start. Once we got a sniff and got quick wickets, we made best use of the situation.”
READ HERE: Shaun Tait explains why speedsters struggle to bowl 150+kmph
Stand-in captain Ajinkya Rahane said: “Not really. I tried my best. Very good game of cricket, they played really well. We came back really well after the first session. We wanted to get that partnership going. We were looking to bowl 5-6 overs in the end, but we needed that partnership to carry on. I don’t think we could have done anything different. The chat with the umps was about the light. As a fielding team, you want to bowl more overs, as a batting unit you don’t want to bat in that situation.
READ HERE: Aakash Chopra opens up on New Zealand’s T20 World Cup squad
He continued: “The chat was about the light, but umpires made the call and I thought they were right. I thought on this wicket the spinners had to bowl long spells. It was all about rotating the bowlers and they bowled really well. I am really happy for Shreyas. He had to wait a long time for his Test debut. He batted really well. The way he works, his record in FC cricket is really good. Virat is coming back for the next game. We’ll have to wait and see till the Mumbai game. I am not going to make any comments but the management will make a call.”
Here is how fans reacted:
Who says test match is boring
Love test matches ♥️#IndiaVsNewZealand #INDvsNZTestSeries pic.twitter.com/FsjPfFeuy0— J A (@Syedjunaidshah_) November 29, 2021
https://twitter.com/kabaddifanclub1/status/1465273537308946436?s=20
A nail-biting draw in Kanpur 👏#WTC23 | #INDvNZ | https://t.co/9OZPrsh0Tm pic.twitter.com/rUg3AFmuja
— ICC (@ICC) November 29, 2021
Time for a korero post match at Green Park 🗣️ #INDvNZ pic.twitter.com/Ox4t92SVbZ
— BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) November 29, 2021
Batted mate. #INDvNZ pic.twitter.com/aXDUdvhezp
— BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) November 29, 2021
With a name partly inspired by Rahul Dravid, Rachin Ravindra was a wall when New Zealand needed him 💪
(📸: @BLACKCAPS) #INDvNZ pic.twitter.com/Qkn42IQhlO
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) November 29, 2021
