Iyer, Saha half-centuries put India in commanding position on Day 4

Half-centuries from Shreyas Iyer (65) and Wriddhiman Saha (61*) put India in the driver’s seat at the close of play on Day 4 of the opening Test in Kanpur against New Zealand. Crucial contributions from the lower-order helped the Men in Blue set the Kiwis a target of 284 in the fourth innings, and the Indians were able to make one breakthrough before stumps with Ravichandran Ashwin dismissing Will Young LBW with a delivery that stayed treacherously low.

Although Ajinkya Rahane’s side ended the day in pole position to win the Test, there was plenty of tension in the Indian camp in the morning session as the Blackcaps reduced India to 51 for five before Lunch. Cheteshwar Pujara began the day with a couple of easy boundaries but was soon undone by the extra bounce generated by Kyle Jamieson, gloving a delivery angling down the leg-side to the keeper.

The Indian captain fell soon after, falling prey to an arm ball from Ajaz Patel that trapped him on the pads for 4. India’s woes went from bad to worse when Tim Southee returned for his second spell of the morning, with the experienced pacer dismissing Mayank Agarwal and Ravindra Jadeja in the same over. The opener edged an outswinger to the slips before Jadeja was pinned on the back leg by a nip-backer for a two-ball duck.

However, Ravichandran Ashwin and Shreyas Iyer steadied the ship for India, with the all-rounder hitting a couple of boundaries off Southee to ease the pressure. The pair slowly built India’s lead, adding 52 runs for the sixth wicket before Kyle Jamieson had Ashwin playing onto his stumps. Iyer was then accompanied by Wriddhiman Saha, and the pair shared another half-century partnership which included plenty of controlled aggression against the spinners to take India’s lead past 200. Iyer used the depth of his crease expertly throughout his innings, becoming the first Indian batter to score a century and a half-century on debut in Test cricket.

Iyer was dismissed on the last ball before Tea by Tim Southee – edging one down the leg side – but Wriddhiman Saha and Axar Patel consolidated India’s position with another vital stand in the evening session. The keeper reached his sixth Test half-century before India declared at 234 for 7, leaving New Zealand a target of 284 to chase in the second innings.

India even had enough time to prize one New Zealand wicket, as Ravichandran Ashwin removed Will Young LBW. Young failed to review the decision in the allotted 15-second window, and to his misfortune, the replays showed the ball had turned too much and was going down leg.