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Shreyas Iyer continued from where he left and put India in a commanding position during their second innings on Day 4 of the ongoing first Test against New Zealand at Green Park in Kanpur.
After smashing a tremendous hundred in the first innings, Iyer hit a crucial half-century in the second essay to stabilise the Indian batting after Black Caps bowlers reduced the hosts at 51/5. Iyer top-scored with 65 off 125 balls with the help of eight boundaries before Tim Southee dismissed him.
After Iyer, it was wicketkeeper-batsman Wriddhiman Saha who took charge and put India in the driving seat. The right-handed batter remained unbeaten at 61 before India declared their second innings for 234/7, giving New Zealand a target of 284 runs.
In the last session, captain Ajinkya Rahane gave the ball to his most successful spinners Axar Patel and Ravichandran Ashwin, to get some breakthroughs. The move worked as Ashwin got rid of first-innings hero Will Young (2) before the match officials announced the stumps.
“We felt that 250, including the first-innings lead, would have been a good score, so we’re very happy with where we are now. Actually, not a lot was happening with the wicket today, the ball was keeping a bit low. The talk was to get to a competitive total, and I feel that it’s a really good total. We have real spin power, so hopefully, we can get the job done tomorrow,” said Iyer after the end of the fourth day’s play.
Here is how Twitter reacted:
Day 4 – Stumps
Let's Bowl-in some whistles for the final day 🥳#INDvNZ #WhistlePodu 🦁💛 pic.twitter.com/bNHMgsJGiL
— Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) November 28, 2021
Two quality knocks under pressure from @ShreyasIyer15 and that to on debut. Keep it up👍 #NZvIND
— VVS Laxman (@VVSLaxman281) November 28, 2021
This half-century by @Wriddhipops under such pressure and testing conditions, is as valuable as a test century! Terrific innings mate… Keep going! 🏏#INDvsNZ #CricketTwitter #TeamIndia pic.twitter.com/B3J0Hfv55m
— MANOJ TIWARY (@tiwarymanoj) November 28, 2021
Hats off to Shreyas Iyer, what a wonderful Test debut this is. And he’s playing a mature knock his team needs right now. Extremely composed. Very well done! #INDvNZ
— Chloe-Amanda Bailey (@ChloeAmandaB) November 28, 2021
A big Day 5 ahead in Kanpur. 280 runs from here for a win after India declared late on Day 4. Scorecard | https://t.co/yGSlW6a2d5 #INDvNZ pic.twitter.com/mQoaTqhXdQ
— BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) November 28, 2021
Day 4, stumps: NZ – 4/1(4)
New Zealand need 280 runs to win on the final day while India need nine wickets.#INDvNZ pic.twitter.com/uG6wFqyDz1— CricketTimes.com (@CricketTimesHQ) November 28, 2021
STUMPS! 🇳🇿: 4/1 (4) | Need 280 runs
A wicket to end Day 4️⃣ on a high note.
What result do you reckon this Test is heading to? ⤵️
📷 ICC #INDvNZ #CricketTwitter
— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) November 28, 2021
Stumps on day four in Kanpur 🏏
🇮🇳 or 🇳🇿, who are you backing to clinch a victory on the final day? #WTC23 | #INDvNZ | https://t.co/9OZPrsh0Tm pic.twitter.com/iLHiwrlhch
— ICC (@ICC) November 28, 2021
From being 51/5 at one stage to finishing the innings on 234/7, 🇮🇳 showed resilience and fight to end Day 4️⃣ firmly in the driver’s seat.
Day 5️⃣ looks promising! 🙌🏻#PlayBold #TeamIndia #INDvNZ pic.twitter.com/Pewt3gb4ai
— Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) November 28, 2021
And that's Stumps on Day 4. #TeamIndia got to bowl four overs with a key breakthrough.
Scorecard – https://t.co/WRsJCUhS2d #INDvNZ @Paytm pic.twitter.com/u1UkkjjUR9
— BCCI (@BCCI) November 28, 2021