Rishabh Pant. (Source -BCCI)
On a day when 15 wickets fell at the iconic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, Team India probably came out as the side on top of the third Test against New Zealand.
The day started with Shubman Gill (90 off 146) and Rishabh Pant (60 off 59) putting up 96 in just 19 overs, but Pant’s dismissal brought out a collapse engineered chiefly by Ajaz Patel (5/103). Washington Sundar (38 off 36) played a cameo but ran out of partners, as India lost their last five wickets for just 83 runs. As a result, the hosts had to huff and puff their way to a first-innings lead.
The last man for India in the form of Akash Deep also ran himself out for a diamond duck to end India’s innings.
In reply, none of the New Zealand batters barring Will Young (51 off 100) looked assured or even crossed 30 as Ravichandran Ashwin (3/63) and Ravindra Jadeja (4/52) left New Zealand tottering at stumps. The BlackCaps finished the day at 171/9 with a lead of 143 in the final Test of the series.
Here are some vital stats from Day 2 of IND vs NZ third Test:
5 – This was Rishabh Pant’s fifth score of fifty or more at a run-a-ball or more in Tests as a wicketkeeper. Among all wicketkeepers, this is the second most. Adam Gilchrist has the most with eight while MS Dhoni and Jonny Bairstow have four each.
3 – This was the third time in Tests that Shubman Gill was dismissed in the 90s. Among all active Indian players, he has the second most dismissals in the nervous nineties with Rishabh Pant being first with seven such scores.
2 – Shubman Gill is the second active Indian player to be dismissed in the 90s twice in the same year in Tests. Gill had recorded a 91 in the Rajkot Test against England earlier this year. Rishabh Pant had three different calendar years where he was dismissed in the 90s twice.
6 – This was Ajaz Patel’s sixth fifer in Tests in Asia. He now has the joint fourth most fifers by a visiting spinner in Asia, level with Richie Benaud. Only Daniel Vettori, Shane Warne and Nathan Lyon have more.
17.26 – Ajaz Patel’s bowling average in Tests at the Wankhede Stadium. Among all bowlers with a minimum of 15 wickets at the ground, it is the fourth-best bowling average, and better than both R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.
2 – Ajaz Patel’s 19 wickets at the Wankhede are the second most by a visiting player at a single ground in India. Ian Botham with 22 at the same ground leads the list. Patel might yet add to the list on the third day.
8 – Akash Deep became the eighth Indian player to be out on a diamond duck (0 off 0) in Tests. He is the second Indian player to get out on a diamond duck in Tests at the Wankhede Stadium after Rajesh Chauhan against Sri Lanka in 1997.