MATCH STORY
Follow UsAt 78/1 with another 2-3 overs left on day one of the Mumbai Test, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill were poised to play out the rest of the day without any further hiccups. They lost Rohit Sharma early on, and the hosts would not have wanted to add to the wickets tally with just 10-15 minutes or so left.
As the famous saying goes, you can't win a Test in a 15-minute window but you can certainly lose it, and much to India's dismay, that's exactly what transpired. It was 15 minutes of absolute chaos for India, who had a golden chance to stay ahead in the game after doing well to bowl New Zealand out for 235 in hot and humid conditions in Mumbai, but squandered it.
Grab your popcorn!
It all started with a rash shot by a well-set Jaiswal. A Mumbai lad who has played a lot of cricket at the Wankhede. Against the run of play, the 22-year-old played a premeditated reverse sweep and was cleaned up by Ajaz Patel. Yes, the same Ajaz Patel who picked up all 10 wickets in an innings at this very venue three years ago.
That ended Jaiswal's 52-ball stay at the crease. The maximum Jaiswal could have got is four runs. But was the shot worth at the cost of losing his wicket?
Okay. Moving on. Virat Kohli was slated to come in at four, but unsurprisingly India decided to send in a nightwatchman. Good move. But who was their choice? Mohammed Siraj. He was sent above Washington Sundar and Ravichandran Ashwin on a turning surface. Alright, no problem. The problem began a few seconds later. Siraj was rapped on the pads by Ajaz, and the umpire raised his finger in a hurry. To the naked eye, that looked plumb. But Siraj and Gill were the best ones to take a call.
They went upstairs, and there it was: three reds. A review wasted on MOHAMMED SIRAJ - the nightwatchman. All this happened in a span of two deliveries. The worst was done, right? Hold on to your hats.
The last over of the day. Rachin Ravindra, who had a rare failure with the bat, looked to make amends with the ball. India were on the back foot and all he needed to do was keep the pressure up. The surface was doing its bit. Gill got a single off the first ball and got down to the other end. Job done, right? Lol.
Ravindra then overstepped. Not surprising, given that the Indian spinners bowled eight between them. He followed that up with a juicy full toss on the pads, and that's exactly what you want when you are yet to get off the mark and Kohli accepted that with glee. He dispatched it to the mid-wicket fence. Another four balls to keep out, right? Easy-peasy.
Kohli then played a full delivery straight to Matt Henry at mid-on. Henry is perhaps New Zealand's best athlete on the ground. But Kohli is better, right? So, he took him on. Just to recap.. the ball was hit straight to Henry, who ran in, didn't even bother to look at the ball as he picked it up.
He picked it up and threw it at the wickets in one motion and Kohli was just short. If the bowlers can't get him out, Kohli gifts it to you. Is that why we call him King? Well...
If you think that was the end of the drama on day one, it thankfully was. From potentially being in a comfortable position at 85 or 90/1, India ended the day 86/4 and potentially one step closer to a whitewash. India might very well look back at this phase of play and rue the chance they had, to be in the driver's seat.
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