India's fragile batting exposed once more as New Zealand seizes control

Pune: When your batting line-up consistently fails in varying conditions within a short timeframe, it's clear that the issue lies in the approach of the batters.

The same malady – poor shot selection -- which afflicted India on the first morning of the series against New Zealand, in Bengaluru, resurfaced at the Pune ground on Friday. After the horror show of being 46 all out in the first Test by the Kiwi pace attack, the hosts were bowled out for 156 by the opposition spinners in a disappointing show on the second Test.

To make matters worse, New Zealand then batted on the same wicket, reaching 198/5 at close of play. They now have an overall lead of 301 runs and given that the wicket is helping spinners, to say that India’s fourth innings will be difficult sounds like an understatement.

Shot-making was risky on the playing surface at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium but runs were there to be had with a clever gameplan and rotation of strike as the New Zealand team showed. But to the dismay of the local crowd, which had turned up in good numbers to watch India bat on the second morning, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant and Sarfaraz Khan all played ordinary shots which hurt the team’s cause.

Kohli played an ugly heave, misreading the length, to be bowled off a full toss; Pant got too eager to hit a long hop to be bowled and Sarfaraz was out for the third time in the series caught hitting uppishly in front of the wicket.

India is known to squeeze teams out in these conditions. In this Test, the New Zealanders have handed them a lesson on how to adjust and adapt on such tracks. They have unsettled the India spinners with use of their feet, sweep shots and rotation of strike. After their first innings effort of 259, they did even better in their second dig to stand on the cusp of becoming the first team in the last 12 years to win a series in India.

For the record, 387 versus England in Chennai, 2008, is India’s highest successful fourth innings chase ever. The way the Indian batters have played so far, none of them evoke any confidence of matching that feat.

If India lose the series, it will be a difficult pill to swallow because it will seriously affect India’s chances of qualifying for the World Test Championship final.

For the home team to put pressure on the opposition, it was important to get a sizeable first innings lead. However, Indian batters were perhaps a tad overconfident, going for their shots like multimillionaires on a casino table. If there was a game plan to put off the spinners, it was not visible except when the two young batters, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill were at the crease at the start of play. The two took the total to 50, mixing caution and aggression, targetting the right balls to score off. Once they fell after scoring 30 each, the innings disintegrated quickly.

The rest of the players batted as if the ball was exploding off the pitch. It was surely not the case. New Zealand’s openers Devon Conway, in the first innings, and captain Tom Latham in the second, showed there weren’t as many demons in the surface. But you needed to have a clear plan. Conway had set the base for the match with a crafty 76, and on Friday afternoon Latham led by example, shutting down India’s chances of a comeback with a priceless 86.

India captain Rohit Sharma looked clueless in the middle. He ran out of ideas and allowed the game to drift, not sure whether to employ attacking or defensive fields. Ambushed by Washinton Sundar on the opening day, the Kiwis were watchful against him in the second essay. Yet, the 25-year-old offie was once again India’s best bowler, picking four of the five wickets to fall. But the rest of the bowlers were easily targetted -- Ashwin for 64 runs in 17 overs and Jadeja for 50 runs in 11 overs.

SANTNER SHINES

India had an unlikely hero in Washington Sundar on Day 1 and the visitors also found a surprise weapon in Mitchell Santner. Bowling 17.3 overs on the trot, the left-arm orthodox spinner attacked the stumps with unerring accuracy to run through the India batting with his best-ever haul of 7/53. It helped them secure a big 103-run lead.

Known for his white-ball skills, coming into the game, his 29th Test, Santner’s best in Test cricket had been a 3-wicket haul. But in a dream spell on Friday, he took the game away from India. The left-arm spinner’s set of deliveries were perfect. He exploited the purchase from the helpful surface with clever variations of pace and angles.

In a brilliant morning session, the visitors rocked India with six wickets for 91 runs. Santner bowled unchanged from one end (16-1-36-4) to reduce India to 107/7. He was provided fine support by off-spinner Glenn Phillips who picked the scalp of Yashasvi Jaiswal before sending back Pant.