What happened on Day 4 of the 1st IND vs NZ 2024 Test?
New Zealand overcame a superb fourth-wicket stand of 177 between Sarfaraz Khan (150) and Rishabh Pant (99) to regain ascendancy of the first Test against India on Day 4 at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Saturday, October 19. The Kiwis bowled out India for 462 in 99.3 overs and now need just 107 runs on Day 5 to go 1-0 up in the three-match series.
India resumed their second innings on 231-3. Sarfaraz and Pant played some splendid cricket to take India past 400. However, Sarfaraz's dismissal sparked a sensational collapse as Kiwi bowlers lifted their game with the second new ball. The hosts lost seven wickets for 54 runs to slip from 408-3 to 462. William O’Rourke (3-92) and Matt Henry (3-102) were the bowling stars for New Zealand.
Earlier, Sarfaraz and Pant kept India's hopes of winning the Test alive with a dominant stand. The former struck 18 fours and three sixes in his maiden Test hundred, exploiting the gaps behind the wickets and exasperating the fielding side. Pant was his usual self at the other end, striking nine fours and five sixes. Until the two were at the crease together, the Kiwi bowling looked rather pedestrian.
How India collapsed after the Sarfaraz-Pant stand
India's fourth-wicket partnership ended immediately after Sarfaraz converted his maiden Test ton into 150. The right-handed batter was caught at cover as he tried to go after Tim Southee. Pant then missed out on a well-deserved hundred as he chopped a back-of-a-length delivery from O'Rourke, which bounced a little extra, back onto the stumps.
The hosts suffered another big blow just before tea as KL Rahul (12) nicked a brute of a delivery in the channel of uncertainty from O'Rourke to the keeper. India lost Ravindra Jadeja (5) early in the last session as he pulled a short ball from O'Rourke straight to the fielder at square leg.
There was no lower-order rescue act from Ravichandran Ashwin this time. The all-rounder was trapped leg before for 15 with one that stayed low from Matt Henry and also nipped back in. The Kiwi pacer polished off the tail without much trouble. Jasprit Bumrah (0) nicked a length ball outside off stump, while Mohammed Siraj (0) was caught at mid-on, attempting to pull his second ball.
New Zealand faced only four falls in their second innings before bad light forced stumps on Day 4. If they chase the target of 107 on Sunday, the Kiwis will register their first Test win in India since November 1988, when they beat the hosts by 136 runs at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai under John Wright's leadership.