[Watch] Ageless Ravichandran Ashwin runs backwards to take a stunning diving catch in 3rd IND vs NZ 2024 Test
Ravichandran Ashwin ran backwards to take a brilliant catch on Day 2 of the third and final Test between India and New Zealand at Wankhede Stadium on Saturday, November 2. As a result, Daryl Mitchell departed for 21 runs off 44 balls as Ravindra Jadeja broke the fifty-run fourth-wicket partnership.
Ashwin’s catch came in the 28th over of the Kiwis’ second innings. Mitchell played a lofted shot off Jadeja but was nowhere near the pitch of the ball. He failed to middle the shot and the 38-year-old ran behind from mid-on towards long-off, kept his eyes on the ball, and stretched his hands before holding onto a superb catch, diving at the last minute.
Take a look:
Daryl Mitchell had previously scored 82 runs in the first innings. Meanwhile, Jadeja returned to the wickets tally in the second essay after his five-wicket haul in the first innings.
Ravindra Jadeja strikes twice to leave New Zealand in tatters; Ravichandran Ashwin returns to wickets tally
Ravindra Jadeja struck twice to leave the Kiwis in a spot of bother in the second innings of the third Test. Apart from Mitchell, Jadeja also got rid of Tom Blundell for just four runs. Earlier, Ravichandran Ashwin took the prized scalp of Rachin Ravindra to bag his first wicket of the contest.
At the time of writing, the visitors were 101/5 in the second innings, with Will Young and Glenn Phillips at the crease. They are leading by 73 runs.
Batting first, the Kiwis posted 235, courtesy of half-centuries from Daryl Mitchell (82) and Will Young (71). As mentioned above, Jadeja bagged a fifer, while Washington Sundar continued his purple patch, picking up four wickets.
In response, India put up 263 in the first innings. Shubman Gill (90) missed out on a well-deserved century, while Rishabh Pant smashed 60. Meanwhile, Ajaz Patel picked up a five-wicket haul for the Blackcaps.
The Tom Latham-led side have already taken a 2-0 lead in the Test series. With that, they won their first-ever Test series in India. On the other hand, the Men in Blue are eyeing a consolation victory in the third Test to consolidate the top spot in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) points table.
Follow the IND vs NZ 3rd Test live score and updates here.