JADEJA’S OUTSTANDING HOME RECORD
To say Ravindra Jadeja as a bowler is a handy option to have in Indian conditions would be a gross understatement.
Jadeja’s record in Test cricket at home is stuff of legends, with 55 wickets in 10 matches at an average of 15.60 – which is the best average for any Indian bowler at home with more than two wickets.
In the last 11 first-class matches that he has played in, Jadeja has picked up 11 five-wicket hauls. To put that into perspective, in his previous 56 first-class matches, he had picked up 12 five-wicket hauls.
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VIJAY-RAHUL’S FIRST 50-RUN STAND
Murali Vijay and KL Rahul finally managed to stitch together a 50+ partnership for the first wicket. This was the seventh time that the duo opened the innings for India together.
Previously, the highest partnership between the two was 48 which came against Australia at Sydney in January 2015.
On Saturday, Vijay and Rahul put on 52 runs for the first wicket which took the game away from New Zealand. Rahul was dismissed for 38, while Vijay was unbeaten on 64 at the end of day’s play.
FIVE WICKETS FOR SEVEN RUNS
In one of the most dramatic batting collapses seen recently, the Kiwis lost their last five wickets for just seven runs.
Spin duo Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin combined to cause the chaos, with the former picking up three wickets in a single over.
The only time the Black Caps lost five wickets for less than this was against Sri Lanka back in 1992 when they lost five wickets for just five runs.
ROSS TAYLOR’S FORM TAKES A NOSEDIVE
The experienced New Zealand middle-order batsman has scored just one run in his last three Test innings and that will be an area of concern for Kane Williamson and company.
On Saturday, Taylor was trapped leg-before-wicket by Jadeja for a duck after facing just two deliveries. This follows the Centurion Test against South Africa where he scored one and zero.
Interestingly, before the Centurion Test, Taylor had scored 366 runs in four innings without being dismissed even once.
Ross Taylor in Tests in 2016:
— Deepu Narayana (@deeputalks) September 24, 2016
vs Zim: 173*, 124*, 67*
vs SA: 2*, 1, 0
vs Ind: 0#INDvNZ #500thTest
VIJAY-PUJARA SHINE ONCE AGAIN
Murali Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara registered their second century partnership of the Test on day three. In the process, they became only the second Indian pair to score two 100+ partnerships in the same Test for the second wicket.
The other instance of this occurring was in 2006 when Rahul Dravid and Wasim Jaffer put on 129 and 167 for the second wicket against England at Nagpur.
After adding 112 runs in the first innings, Vijay and Pujara’s partnership is currently unbeaten on 107 in the second essay.
