The New Zealand opening batsmen have come out strong on day two of the first Test in Kanpur as the Indian bowlers toiled away in vain. It was the DRS reviews that hurt them the most and Jimmy Neesham has come up with a cheeky dig at subcontinental giants.
Winning the toss, India put up a respectable score of 345 as debutant Shreyas Iyer brought up his maiden Test century. Shubman Gill and Ravindra Jadeja’s half-centuries saw India manage to cross the 300 run mark with handy contributions from Ajinkya Rahane and Ravichandran Ashwin who got good starts.
In reply, the Kiwis came out all guns blazing as they finished day two with 129 runs on the board without losing a wicket. The openers Will Young and Tom Latham put up a century stand for the first wicket as Indian bowlers toiled away but in vain. While Young was phenomenal in his first innings in India, Latha seemed vulnerable only for the DRS to come to his rescue.
Jimmy Neesham comes up with a cheeky Tweet as Tom Latham took refuge in the DRS
Tom Latham played a gritty knock to bring up his half-century but not before DRS saved his wicket not once not twice but thrice. The Kiwi opener took three reviews and all three came out in his favour as the Indian bowlers were left frustrated and wicketless in the final two sessions.
It was only in the third over that Latham was given out lbw off pacer Ishant Sharma only for replays to reveal that he had edged the ball onto his pads. In the 15th over, Ravindra Jadeja had the Kiwi opener plumb in front of the stumps only for DRS and the inside edge coming to his rescue yet again. The 56th over saw Ravichandran Ashwin dismiss Latham caught behind only for snicko to reveal there was no edge.
As Indians finished the day desperate for a wicket, Jimmy Neesham came up with a hilarious tweet. Referring to a phase when India refused to use technology to overturn decisions, Neesham joked that team India might head that way again. “If Tommy Latham gets a ton here India might go back to refusing to use DRS at home,” Neesham wrote.
Tom Latham and Will Young become the 3rd visiting opening pair to score a hundred partnership against India in Kanpur. Much will depend on how the duo resume play on day three as India will eager to get some quick wickets. With just 57 overs bowled, skipper Rahane will be looking to his spinners to give him the breakthroughs as the host await for the new ball to be available.
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