India Enforce Follow-on As New Zealand Stare At A Big Defeat

New Zealand received some respite after torrential rains ensured that only eighteen overs could be bowled after the Indians inflicted a follow on. The visitors lost their opening batsman Martin Guptill to a Pragyan Ojha arm ball to end their innings on 41/1.

Resuming the innings five wickets down for 106 runs , the Indians did not need much time to get their first wicket of the day. The only surprise was that Van Wyk fell to the pace of Umesh Yadav lbw to a skidder. Thereafter, normal business resumed as the spinners started weaving a net around the lower order. James Franklin played a lone hand of 41 not out, as the rest came in, got confused and left without wasting much time. Ravichandran Ashwin finished with figures of 6 for 31 while his spin twin Pragyan Ojha helped himself to 3 wickets after conceding 41 runs. The Kiwis got dismissed for a score of 159. The heavy cloud cover meant that Dhoni had no second thoughts in asking the opposition to bat again.

In the second innings, Ojha opened the bowling and started weaving a web around Guptill. The two openers looked circumspect and ill at ease. Guptill survived a close lbw shout off Ojha, but was later dismissed in the same fashion although the ball seemed to be missing the offstump. Kane Williamson and Brendon McCullum played out the rest of the overs as the rain gods ensured that not much play was possible after the fall of the first wicket.

With two days of play still left to go the Kiwis would require a lot of determination, skill, luck and rainfall to avoid going 1-0 down in the series.