After two disappointing days of cricket, the Indian team appeared confident on the fourth day of the first Test against India in Bengaluru, with Sarfaraz Khan and Rishabh Pant playing with positive intent. After losing the first day to rain, India were all out for 46 in the first innings. They then surrendered a 356-run lead when New Zealand scored 402 in the first innings. India achieved 231 on Day 3 but lost a well-set Virat Kohli on the final ball. The opening session of the fourth day drew the most attention, as Rishabh Pant and Sarfaraz Khan delivered.
Sarfaraz got his first Test century and shared a 50-plus unbroken partnership with Pant in the opening session. However, the collaboration would have terminated prematurely due to a major misunderstanding. Sarfaraz was furious as he attempted to prevent Pant from making a second run, with New Zealand wicketkeeper Tum Blundell close to the stumps with the ball in hand. India skipper Rohit Sharma and Ravichandran Ashwin were surprised by what was occurring in the middle. They then began to chuckle, knowing everything had turned out nicely for India.
On day three of the first Test against New Zealand in Bengaluru, India trailed by 125 runs following Virat Kohli’s late dismissal. Kuldeep Yadav, reflecting on the day’s performance, acknowledged the difficulties of controlling the run rate on a track that provided little assistance to spinners. In response to India’s first-innings score of 46, New Zealand scored 402 runs, helped by a brilliant century from Rachin Ravindra and a counter-attacking half-century from Tim Southee. The day ended with Glenn Phillips dismissing Kohli for 70, breaking a crucial 136-run partnership with Sarfaraz Khan. When reflecting on the Day 4 strategy, Kuldeep stressed the significance of taking a session-by-session approach.
“It’s difficult to control runs here. There wasn’t much turn yesterday, probably because the pitch was a little damp. Even decent deliveries can be scored off in the absence of many turns or rough spots, particularly at this ground with its short boundaries,” Kuldeep stated at the post-day press conference. “Credit to New Zealand; they batted quite well. We need to bat well tomorrow. We had a good start today, but we’re still 125 runs behind.