Mumbai: Ravindra Jadeja claimed the second five-wicket haul of the match as India bowled New Zealand out for 174 in 45.5 overs, leaving themselves to make 147 runs to win the third and final Test of the three-match series to avoid a 0-3 whitewash.
Starting at the overnight score of 171/9, New Zealand’s second innings lasted just 14 balls in eight minutes on the third morning, adding just three runs to their score.
After poking around for a few deliveries, Ajaz Patel tried to hit out at Jadeja’s tossed-up delivery around off and middle stump. Still, he could manage only slog it down to Akash Deep at deep mid-wicket for an easy catch.
This helped Jadeja claim his second five-wicket haul of the match, finishing with overall figures of 10-120, his second-best-ever haul after the 10-110 he claimed against Australia at New Delhi in February 2023. This was Jadeja’s 15th fifer in 77 Test matches, taking his overall tally to 319.
India now have to get 147 to win the Test and make the final result of the series 1-2. The victory will also earn them a few points in the World Test Championships standings that will help strengthen their claim for a berth in the final for the third time after losing to New Zealand and Australia in previous editions.
But it could be a tricky chase for India as the ball is turning sharply and there is the variable bounce to contend with too. However, as Shubman Gill said in his press conference on Saturday evening, a partnership of 60-70-odd runs could settle the issue in India’s favour.
New Zealand would be hoping to claim a couple of wickets early and hope that the pressure of batting in the fourth innings on a crumbling pitch will unnerve the Indians enough to commit hara-kiri as they did towards the end of Day 1 on Thursday.
Brief scores:
New Zealand 235 and 174 all out in 45.5 overs (Will Young 51; Ravindra Jadeja 5-55, R Ashwin 3-63) lead India 263 by 146 runs.
–IANS