Bengaluru, Oct 19 2024- Rain came back in the picture to force an early lunch on day four of the first Test between India and New Zealand at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday. At the time of interruption, India reached 344/3 in 71 overs and trail New Zealand by just 12 runs, thanks to a maiden Test ton by Sarfaraz Khan and Rishabh Pant’s 12th fifty in the format. Bengaluru, Oct 19 (IANS) Rain came back in the picture to force an early lunch on day four of the first Test between India and New Zealand at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday.
At the time of interruption, India reached 344/3 in 71 overs and trail New Zealand by just 12 runs, thanks to a maiden Test ton by Sarfaraz Khan and Rishabh Pant’s 12th fifty in the format. Resuming from 70, Sarfaraz continued to be audacious in his approach and peppered the square boundary on the off-side with tons of cheeky backfoot cuts and slices to be unbeaten on 125. He has been well-supported by Pant, who unleashed his aggressive self after a brief period of patience, with the wicketkeeper-batter being 53 not out.
The unbroken 113-run partnership between Sarfaraz and Pant, who played together for India U19 team in the 2016 U19 World Cup, means India still have a slight chance at conjuring up an unlikely win, provided rain gods make way quickly. In the morning, with dark clouds hanging around, Sarfaraz welcomed William O’Rourke with two cuts on the off-side, followed by taking another four and dispatching Matt Henry for two.