Having floored India at 51/5 on the morning of Day 4, New Zealand must have sniffed an unlikely win on Indian soil. Had they restricted India’s lead to somewhere between 150 an 175, New Zealand would have closed in on ending their 33-year-long wait.
But the story of Day 4 was the resistance offered by India’s lower middle order. A resilient show from Shreyas Iyer (65), R. Ashwin (32 and a wicket), Wriddhiman Saha (61*) and Axar Patel (28*) stretched India to a winning position.
From 84/5 at lunch, India recovered to 167/7 at tea before declaring at 234/7, setting New Zealand 284. No visiting side has chased as much to win a Test match on Indian soil.
A rare home defeat would have loomed on the Indians had it had not been for the lower middle order. Irrespective of the result, captain Ajinkya Rahane’s place in the side seems in doubt, with Virat Kohli set to return for the next Test and Iyer becoming the first India to score a hundred and fifty on debut.
In the 12 Test matches Rahane has played this year, he has 411 runs at an average of 19.57.
Heading to the final day, all four results are likely. New Zealand require another 280 to win with nine wickets in hand. It could have been all ten wickets in hand, had Will Young not delayed the review by a second.
In what was a massive blow for the visitors, Young, who got 89 in the first innings, was given out leg-before to one that would have missed the leg stump. DRS would have saved him, but he delayed the call.
The year 2021 has seen at least three chases, in Brisbane, Chittagong, and Kingston, that would rank among the greatest in the history of Test cricket. There’s no reason not to believe why New Zealand, the top-ranked side and winners of the ICC Test Championship, cannot pull this off – or at least sneak out a draw.
However, odds are heavily stacked against them, especially on a crumbling surface against Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. Completing the trinity is Axar, who is yet to figure out what it is like to fail in Test cricket.
Since their two defeats against England in 2012/13, India have lost two out of 38 Test matches at home and drawn five, of which three were impacted by weather. The defeats, against Australia (in 2016/17) and England (in 2020/21), came in matches where they were forced to bat fourth after losing the toss.
For New Zealand to turn the odds, they will have to put up their greatest ever batting show against spin. Tom Latham, Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor and Henry Nicholls will all have to be at their best.
They have done little wrong in this Test match. They have troubled India, and had their nose ahead at times, but India have found an answer to everything. While the cricket world’s spotlight has been on the Ashes, the two best teams in the format have been involved in a had-nosed tussle.
There is a lot to look forward to on the last day of what has been a fascinating Test match. Can India’s spin trio, along with Umesh Yadav and Ishant Sharma, live up to their reputation? Will the much-famed New Zealand middle order, led by Williamson, ensure the Test match qualifies as a modern classic?