That brings us to the end of our coverage of the first Test between India and New Zealand in Kanpur. The caravan moves to the western part of the country, with Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium hosting the second and final Test starting four days from now. It was a Test befitting the two finalists of the inaugural World Test Championship as the two sides fought tooth-and-nail till the very last ball on the final day, and ultimately ended up sharing the spoils for this game.
We hope you enjoyed our live coverage of the game. For now, this is Amit Banerjee signing off.
Shreyas Iyer is the Player of the Match
Iyer: It’s a great feeling, but if we won the game it could have been the icing on the cake. The wicket was still intact. My mindset was just to play the sessions. People say I’m very flamboyant and don’t control my instincts, but this time I decided to play for the team. It really helped the way Ashwin, Jadeja and Saha contributed. I am really proud of the way we turned things around. I’m really happy with the overall performance of the team. Pressure is always there. They got off to a great start, played two sessions very positively. Once we got a sniff, we saw that as a moment to attack, and we made the best use of the situation.
Ajinkya Rahane, India captain: Not really. I tried my best. They played really well throughout the game. But I thought the way we came back was great. We wanted to get that partnership going, we lost four-five wickets quickly. We were looking to bowl five-six overs in the end. I don’t think we’d have done anything different. It was about the light. As the fielding you want to bowl more overs. As a batting team, you don’t. It was all about rotating the bowlers, and they bowled really well. First of all, Im really happy for Shreyas. The way he worked on his game, his record in First-Class cricket is really good. Virat obviously is coming in the next game, and we have to wait and see. I won’t make any comments.
Kane Williamson, New Zealand captain: As we’ve seen throughout this Test, it’s been touch and go with the light. The Indian side are a formidable one, and they were on top for the most part. We just hung in there till the end. Given their quality bowling attack, we knew it was a lot of hard work. Lots of fantastic experiences today. Really good experiences today. We saw the emotions of a really good Test match. Was a great game overall. The two fast bowlers that we played were outstanding for us. Kept us in the game for long periods for time. Also the way the guys adjusted with the bat as well. But know we get to Mumbai on a different surface, and will prepare accordingly.
“We were keeping things under control and bowling in good areas. Light was always going to come in the last session, and we did expect it. We thought we could get the job done, and came together well. (On surpassing Bhajji) I know these are milestones that are constantly kept on tab. It’s wonderful. It’s the memories that matter, and I want to have some special memories going forward in the next three-four overs. The pitch has played its part going into the last three or four overs. Just tells you a story. Anybody can defend these days. Getting these tailenders not as easy anymore,” says Ravichandran Ashwin in a chat after the close of play.
The man of the hour!
rachin ravindra on debut, named after rahul dravid by his cricket loving father, denies rahul dravid victory in his debut as india coach! #INDvNZ— Gaurav Kalra (@gauravkalra75) November 29, 2021
Tailenders and their fighting spirit!
Light or no light. Bowlers love batting. Here for the battle. Test cricket ??– Sheldon Cotterell (@SaluteCotterell) November 29, 2021
The first of the many light jokes that will be cracked today
For New Zealand, the light at the end of the tunnel is the light meter.– Gaurav Kapur (@gauravkapur) November 29, 2021
Couldn’t be more proud of his teammates
Incredibly gutsy performance. Proud of all you lads! @BLACKCAPS #INDvNZ— Jimmy Neesham (@JimmyNeesh) November 29, 2021
And that’s that! The umpires say no further play is possible due to the light, and the first Test between India and New Zealand in Kanpur ends in a nail-biting draw, the two-match series currently level at 0-0.
Special credit to debutant Rachin Ravindra for sticking through to the very end to ensure New Zealand earn a hard-fought draw on foreign cycle that will no doubt come in very handy for them in the World Test Championship cycle.