New Zealand vs India, Day 1: List of key takeaways
The Indian cricket team failed to capitalise upon the start provided by the openers on Day 1 of the second Test against New Zealand at Christchurch. A resounding five-for by Kyle Jamieson helped the hosts bundle out India on 242. Trent Boult and Tim Southee also scalped two wickets apiece to disarray the Indian batsmen. Here are the key takeaways.
How did Day 1 pan out?
While Prithvi Shaw was off to a flier, his compatriot Mayank Agarwal was trapped lbw by Boult in the sixth over. Prithvi scored a quickfire 54 (64), having smashed eight fours and one six. Cheteshwar Pujara and Hanuma Vihari scored fifties with Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane once again failing to take off. New Zealand are 63/0 at stumps and trail by 179 runs.
Kohli's run-drought does not seem to end
Although Pujara silenced his detractors to an extent with a resilient knock in the first innings, the eyes are still on Virat Kohli. The Indian skipper has had a forgettable New Zealand tour so far across formats. The ghosts of the dreadful 2014 England tour have reappeared and Kohli is not able to end his run-drought. He was dismissed on three by Tim Southee.
Kohli has been Southee's bunny in international cricket
Virat Kohli's score in the New Zealand tour read as- 45, 11, 38, 11, 51, 15, 9, 2, 19 and 3. Notably, this was the tenth time Kohli has got out to Tim Southee in international cricket (most dismissals by a bowler against Kohli).
India wasted two reviews on Day 1
Only two out of Kohli's last 13 DRS calls while batting, against LBW in Tests have been successful. His last successful review as a batsman was against Sri Lanka in 2017-18. Kohli reviewed his LBW decision on Day 1 after he was trapped in front by Southee. Earlier, Mayank Agarwal also took a referral off a Trent Boult delivery. He had to depart eventually.
The New Zealand bowlers have dominated the series so far
There has been a vast difference between the two sides, when it comes to bowling. It won't be wrong to admit that the hosts have the all-important home advantage, but the Indian bowling attack looks bleak at the moment. The likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav (who replaced Ishant Sharma) were unable to make early inroads in the second Test.
