India take game in balance
Tea New Zealand 365 & 123 for 4 (Flynn 25*, Franklin 11*) lead India 353 (Kohli 103, Dhoni 62, Raina 55, Southee 7-64) by 135 runs
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On the back of a skilled and unyielding bowling performance, led by Tim Southee's 7 for 64, New Zealand had given themselves a chance to seize control of the Bangalore Test. All that was required was for their batsmen to even come close to replicating their first innings at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. Instead, wickets close to the two breaks at either end of the afternoon session have meant that New Zealand's lower order must work hard to set a challenging target for India.
At tea on day three, New Zealand had lost their top four batsmen in the second innings to be 123 for 4. At the crease were left-hand batsmen Daniel Flynn, on 25, and James Franklin, on 11, with the lead 135. This after New Zealand had bowled India out for 353 in the first innings, to take a slim lead, and had gone to lunch at 29 for no loss.
If the wickets of the two openers within three overs of lunch interval ensured that India got their foot in the door, the key wicket came around 15 minutes before the tea break. Captain Ross Taylor, whose brilliant first-innings counterattack had set his team up in the Test, was out for 35. Taylor tried to sweep against one that came straight through from Pragyan Ojha. The similarity with his first-innings dismissal was uncanny and, for his side, rather unhelpful. Taylor and Flynn had put on 42 for the fourth wicket, at four an over, tackling the spinners with composure and certainity.
They were able to drive the New Zealand innings forward after the advent of the double-spin attack brought about India's third strike in the afternoon. With Ojha at the other end, Ashwin came on in the 18th and, in his first over, got rid of Kane Williamson. Williamson, New Zealand's best-equipped batsman against spin, was responsibly defending when extra bounce from Ashwin induced an edge to first slip.
Umesh Yadav opened the second session and, in the space of five balls, nipped out the two New Zealand openers. In the first innings Yadav had struggled with his length, but on Sunday afternoon had his radar switched on. Martin Guptill went for a somewhat flashy, rather lazy shot through the covers and found a full toss from Yadav knocking over his leg stump. It was the first ball Guptill had faced after lunch. Yadav opened his next over by getting McCullum caught behind; the batsman was drawn into offering a shot off to one on a sublime length, and the slightest of nicks carried to Dhoni.
Most of the third morning had been dominated by a fine spell of new ball bowling by Southee; these were Southee's best bowling figures in an innings and took him past 50 Test wickets. If the remaining India batsmen could put together 70 runs this morning, after being five down overnight, it was only because of a handy tenth-wicket partnership of 33 between R Ashwin and Umesh Yadav.
New Zealand returned refreshed in the morning, with the new ball due in two overs; MS Dhoni welcomed it with a four, hitting straight past the bowler, Boult, to cross fifty. Kohli got to his century, his second in Test cricket, off the last ball of the same over, flicking one off his pads to the square-leg fence.
The drama of the morning, however, transpired when Southee pressed on, bowling the second of his nine overs of the session. The new ball gave him shape and swing, and was to produce four wickets in three successive overs. Southee's figures for the morning read 9-2-29-4. These included the wickets of Kohli and Dhoni, both leg before. Given that Southee had bowled both inswingers and late away swingers, both men misread the ball coming into them. Television replays showed that the disguised scrambled seam was what could have led Kohli to pad up and not offer a shot. Dhoni was out to a similar delivery, when trying to hit the ball onto the on-side. Southee then removed Zaheer Khan and Pragyan Ojha in one over, with India still 45 runs away from the New Zealand total.
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