Ravindra Jadeja bowls Tom Blundell with a terrific delivery: India needed early wickets on day 3 of India vs New Zealand Pune Test match to stop New Zealand’s second-innings lead to under or around the 350-run mark to give themselves some chance of a victory, though that really seems out of question now after their dire first innings total of only 156 runs.
Nonetheless, Ravindra Jadeja, as he has often done, provided the first breakthrough of the morning on Saturday by castling the Kiwi wicketkeeper-batsman Tom Blundell with a ripper of a delivery that burst through the batsman’s defenses and crashed into the stumps.
Blundell, who hadn’t done much with the bat so far in the series, batted well in this innings as he scored 41 crucial runs that helped New Zealand’s lead go past 300 runs.
He was finally outdone by the trickery of Jadeja. It was a delivery that pitched on the fuller side of the good length, drawing a front-foot defensive shot from Blundell.
While Blundell expected an away turn after pitching, the ball went in straight with the angle, something that has troubled all batsmen who have arrived in India.
This was a special arm ball from Jadeja, which, instead of turning away from the right-handed batsman, continued to come into the batter. Blundell had left a gap between his pad and bat, through which the ball sneaked in and thudded into the stumps. Jadeja had his arms raised as India got their first wicket of the day.
Watch: Ravindra Jadeja Bowls Tom Blundell With A Terrific Delivery find IND vs NZ Second Test
Meanwhile, India have taken three wickets in the first 45 minutes of play on Saturday in Pune. But New Zealand’s lead is near 350 with Glenn Phillips still at the crease.
India’s 18-series winning streak in home Test series is on the line. They lost the first Test in Bengaluru and now are on the verge of a loss in Pune as well. New Zealand are yet to win a Test series in India, a dream that is likely to be fulfilled on this tour.
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