NEW DELHI: Incessant rain forced the umpires to abandon the day’s play on the third day of the first Test between India and New Zealand at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Saturday.
Following-on, New Zealand were 41/1 in their second innings when bad light stopped play.Pragyan Ojha took his first wicket in the second innings when he trapped Martin Guptill plumb in front of the wicket.Ojha hurled a loopy delivery around off and it straightened a touch after landing, Guptill offered no shot and used his pad to defend it. Umpire Ian Gould raised his finger after a huge appeal, even though that looked to be spinning away and missing the stumps.Following on, Guptill and Brendon McCullum commenced New Zealand’s second innings after lunch.Earlier, India enforced the follow-on after R Ashwin took six wickets to bowl out New Zealand for 159 runs in their first innings, with the lead of 279 runs in the pocket.Indian spinners were too hot to handle for the Kiwis as the duo of Ashwin and Pragyan Ojha took nine wickets between them.James Franklin (43*) was the only Kiwi batsman who looked at ease but he ran out of partners eventually.This is Ashwin’s best bowling figures in Test cricket.Ashwin took his sixth wicket when he clean bowled Chris Martin for a first ball duck.Martin registered his 34th duck in Test cricket and equalled Shane Warne’s record. Ashwin dished out a simple off-spinner around off, Martin went forward but the ball spun back in a shade to beat the bat and went on to disturb the stumps.__PAGEBREAK__Ashwin registered his third five-wicket haul when he had Trent Boult caught by Gautam Gambhir at short leg.Ashwin served a nice loopy off-spinner on off, Boult got on the front foot for defense but it took the inside edge. The ball brushed his pads and Gambhir at short leg pouched the simplest of catches.Ashwin took his fourth wicket when he took a good return catch to dismiss Jeetan Patel.Ashwin bowled a flighted full delivery outside off, Patel reached out for it and mistimed his drive aerially back to the bowler. Ashwin dived down in time to his left and snapped it inches over the turf. The third umpire had a good look at the replays and ruled it in favour of India.Pragyan Ojha took his third wicket when he had Doug Bracewell stumped by captain MS Dhoni.Ojha played on the patience of the batsman and dropped a flighted delivery outside off. Bracewell shimmied down the track for a big shot but it spun away to beat the bat. Dhoni collected the ball and broke the stumps in a jiffy.Umesh Yadav trapped Kruger van Wyk plumb in front of the wicket in the second over of the day.van Wyk tried to pull, went through the shot too early as the ball dipped and hit his pads.Start of play on the third day was delayed by an hour due to rain.On Day 2, India’s first innings ended on 438 with Cheteshwar Pujara contributing 159 and adding 127 runs for the sixth wicket with skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni who chipped in with a useful 73.In New Zealand innings, Dhoni’s move to bring in the tweakers early on paid off as the Kiwis had no answer to the Indian spinners, who exploited the turn and bounce that the wicket offered, and were reduced to 106/5 by close of play.TNN