3 key questions that need to be answered after Day 1 of the 2nd IND vs NZ Test
India's middle-order woes came back to haunt them for a brief while on Day 1 of the second Test against New Zealand, but they recovered well to reach 221/4 at Stumps.
Mayank Agarwal's stunning assault against spin and restraint against pace helped the hosts reach a decent position on a day that saw only 70 overs bowled due to a wet outfield. With the pitch offering turn and bounce in patches, India will be confident of sealing the match and the series.
But a few questions need to be answered after Day 1 of the Mumbai Test, and here are three pressing ones.
#3 Did Ajinkya Rahane actually have a hamstring niggle?
Ajinkya Rahane missed out on a Wankhede Test yet again, with captain Virat Kohli confirming at the toss that the vice-captain is suffering from a minor left hamstring strain. But the question needs to be asked - did Rahane really have a niggle or is the team unwilling to state that one of their senior players has been dropped due to poor form?
Neither Kohli nor coach Rahul Dravid mentioned anything about Rahane's injury in the pre-match press conferences, and the 33-year-old was even seen carrying drinks onto the field. India might've attempted to preserve the dignity of one of their longest-serving Test batters at the moment, but it looked like a feeble cover-up on paper.
This isn't the first instance of the same, either. Even in the Ravi Shastri era, India were criticized for listing "convenient" injuries when out-of-form players had to miss out. In a professional environment, there should be no shame in admitting that a player's performances haven't been up to the mark, and fans certainly won't be pleased with the way India have handled the Rahane situation.
#2 Will Mayank Agarwal and Cheteshwar Pujara be on the plane to South Africa?
India's South Africa tour may not be on after the new COVID outbreak in the Rainbow Nation. But if it happens, will Cheteshwar Pujara and Mayank Agarwal be on the plane?
Pujara has endured a difficult time in the series so far, having not crossed the 30-run mark yet. On Day 1 of the Mumbai Test, he survived a close call before dancing down the track to Ajaz Patel and seeing his stumps disturbed. The India No. 3 has been in a prolonged run of poor form, and India might be running out of patience.
Meanwhile, Mayank's splendid hundred was built on a plethora of attacking shots against spin and his pace frailties didn't seem too far away from bringing about an early dismissal. The 30-year-old doesn't have a great overseas record, even for India 'A'.
The impending returns of Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul won't help his cause. Nor will the fact that the India 'A' batters who are currently in South Africa are showing great application and will be very familiar with the conditions by the time the tour rolls around. Shubman Gill has played a couple of promising innings and has been considered for a middle-order slot too, worsening the case of both Pujara and Mayank.
India have some big selection calls to make ahead of the South Africa tour, assuming it happens in the first place.
#1 Why didn't the third umpire overturn Indian captain Virat Kohli's LBW decision?
Virat Kohli's return to the Test side didn't go to plan as he was dismissed for a four-ball duck. The Indian skipper, convinced that he had inside-edged an arm ball from Ajaz Patel onto his front pad, was bemused when he saw third umpire Virender Sharma refuse to overturn the on-field decision of 'out'.
To the naked eye, it seemed like it was clearly bat-first. There was a shadow of the ball on the front pad as it was adjacent to the inside edge, suggesting that it was yet to strike the pad. Moreover, real-time replays seemed to put the case beyond doubt.
However, Sharma - who had a nightmare outing on the field in the first Test and has a history of making questionable decisions - suggested there was not enough "conclusive" evidence to overturn the call. He even forgot to check ball-tracking for the LBW once he decided it wasn't conclusively pad-first and had to be reminded of the same.
Clause 36.2.2 in the MCC rulebook states, "If the ball makes contact with the striker's person and bat simultaneously, this shall be considered as the ball having first touched the bat." If Sharma couldn't ascertain whether there was conclusive evidence, he could've considered the contact to be simultaneous. Kohli can consider himself very unlucky to be given out, as a number of experts and former cricketers have opined on social media.