India vs New Zealand WTC Final Day 3: India fights back after Conway's fifty, Jamieson's five-for

India vs New Zealand World Test Championship Final Test, Day 3 Streaming: Get the live cricket score updates between NZ vs IND from Ageas Bowl, Southampton.

Updated : Jun 21, 2021 13:59 IST

Ishant Sharma dismissed New Zealand opener Devon Conway for 54 before bad light stopped play in the third session.
Ishant Sharma dismissed New Zealand opener Devon Conway for 54 before bad light stopped play in the third session.
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Ishant Sharma dismissed New Zealand opener Devon Conway for 54 before bad light stopped play in the third session.

Hello and welcome to Sportstar's LIVE coverage of Day 3 of the World Test Championship Final between India and New Zealand. This is Lalith Kalidas bringing you all the updates as action unfurls in Southampton.


Bad light forces stumps on day 3. Just as Ishant Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah were starting to build pressure, the umpires have called off play. Latham and Conway got New Zealand off to a solid start before R. Ashwin accounted for Latham to give India its first breakthrough. Conway, joined by skipper Williamson, scored yet another Test fifty before perishing to Ishant. Taylor had just joined Williamson when players were informed that stumps had been pulled. NZ finish on 101/2, still trail India by 116 runs.

Ishant to Conway. OUT! In the air and gone! Massive breakthrough for India! Ishant is roaring in delight. Not a wicket churned out with a proper plan but the pressure leading up to it has helped India. Ishant slides one down to Conway's feet and the southpaw attempts a flick over mid-on. The ball just angles in a bit and the leading edge flies to Shami who makes no mistake with a running catch.

Kohli brings Ishant into the attack as the clouds continue to swell up.

NZ 101/1 in 48 overs: Three maidens on the trot as Williamson and Conway are forced to a lull. Bumrah and Jadeja continue to attack the stumps but the batsmen continue to present a dead bat defence.

Thick clouds forming over the Bowl.

NZ 101/1 in 45 overs: 100 up for the Kiwis! The batsmen have shown minimal error in judgement and has been further helped by India's irregular bowling. Kohli has stuck to similar tactics throughout the day with hardly any breakthrough and that has been a rare sight from the Indian captain.  But that doesn't take away anything from the New Zealand openers who have aced the waiting game over the last two sessions.

NZ 99/1 in 44 overs: Fifty for Devon Conway! Another seamless transition across formats and Conway builds on his purple patch in this English tour. Interesting to note that, not a single run has come off his blade in the traditional 'V' - tremendous control.

NZ 94/1 in 43 overs: Jadeja darts through his over in typical fashion after beginning with a no-ball. Conway sweeps the last ball fine down the leg-side and manages to push for three runs.

Well, well..who do we have here? Ravindra Jadeja is into the attack.

NZ 84/1 in 41 overs: Ashwin begins with a loosener. Short and wide and Williamson rocks back to cut. Bumrah gives a long chase but the batsman have managed to sneak in four runs. Ashwin quickly makes amends in length and pushes the ball fuller to keep Williamson back in his strides.


NZ 72/1 in 38 overs:
Shami continues to send in a barrage of short deliveries to Conway. Seems like it has unsettled Conway quite a bit but the Indian bowlers have not maintained the pressure over a consistent period to sneak through. Shami is bowling with more precision and purpose in this spell and has pushed the ball into the uncertain channel outside off frequently.

NZ 71/1 in 36 overs: Shami welcomes Williamson with a hostile over. He gets the ball to zip in quickly and Williamson nudges the deliveries out with a brief struggle. Kohli senses a possibility of a wicket and has finally reeled in some changes in the field. A couple of close-in fielders take charge.

NZ 71/1 in 35 overs: Ashwin to Latham. OUT! There we go, a lapse in concentration right after the break! Tossed up much fuller and Latham falls for the ploy. The check drive lobs in the air and Kohli pounces on it at short cover to seize the moment for his side. Tom Latham c Kohli b Ashwin 30 (104b 3x4)

Back from Drinks and Ashwin continues

NZ 70/0 in 34 overs: DRINKS. Shami continues to tail the ball into Conway's defense. Conway is clearly shaken but he has still managed to force a dead bat to quell the impending danger as the players now move into a short break.

NZ 57/0 in 31 overs: Positive signs for Ash!
Latham charges down in a bid to break the lull and Ashwin tosses the ball up this time. The slower, loopy deliver nearly foxes Latham who jumps ahead and misses the ball, but manages to get some body on it to prevent a stumping. Encouraging for Ashwin as he finds visible turn from that delivery.

NZ 57/0 in 30 overs: Shami continues to weave some magic with that beautiful seam presentation of his. Latham is all squared up off the first ball as Shami brings the ball into him sharply from outside off. An excellent over on return from Shami as he completes a maiden over with deft variations in length.

Shami replaces Ishant

NZ 57/0 in 29 overs: Ashwin continues to dart the ball in swiftly to Conway. There's not much turn on offer and Ashwin relies on the extra pace to test Conway's fortitude.  Not much going in favour of the offie in his battle with the left-handers today.

Ashwin is brought back into the attack

NZ 57/0 in 28 overs: Ishant gets the ball to spring up sharply to beat Conway's blade once again. Well, Ishant goes up with a loud shout and pleads to his skipper for a review. Kohli has a long thought before deciding against it. The replays suggest there was no nick on that one and India has saved its review. The search for the breakthrough continues.

NZ 54/0 in 27 overs: 50-run partnership for the Kiwi openers! They are slowly taking this away from India. Latham hits a couple of streaky aerial shots and Kohli wears a sheepish smile. The Indians are feeling a tinge of pressure building up.

Bumrah into the attack, replacing Ashwin

NZ 43/0 in 24 overs: India continues to play defensive cricket with the ball. Ishant maintains the fuller length as Latham and Conway continue to negotiate them with ease at the moment.

NZ 43/0 in 22 overs: Contrasting starts for Conway and Latham after the break. Conway gets going with a solid push through the covers and gets three runs to his name. Ishant then pushes the ball even further to Latham who attempts a lazy drive. The ball takes the outside edge and flies though the vacant space between the three slips and gully, a lucky reprieve for the NZ vice-captain.

Ishant Sharma up with the ball

Latham and Conway walk back to the middle as Kohli's men take their positions. 


Back for the final session!
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NZ 36/0 in 21 overs: Kohli brings Bumrah back for one final over before Tea. Latham continues to leave the deliveries outside off-stump with Bumrah failing to provide a special moment here. A solid display from the openers have put the Kiwis in good stead for the final session.

NZ 36/0 in 20 overs: Shami's run out of fortunes already. Another sharp bouncer gets Conway rising up in surprise. The ball hits the edge and falls agonisingly over Rahane in gully.

NZ 24/0 in 17 overs: Ashwin varies his pace and attempts to keep Latham guessing. With footholes appearing on the surface, Ashwin would be aiming to extract some turn to trump the lefties in this brief period of play. Meanwhile, Conway and Latham are happy to continue their waiting game.

NZ 22/0 in 15 overs: Ashwin sets off with some quicker balls before finding a hint of turn from the slower tossed-up delivery outside off. Latham comfortably presses forward to see off the first over.

Ashwin replaces Ishant! Finally, we have spin on this surface.

NZ 22/0 in 14 overs: Probing over from Shami! Shami adjusts his length and tests Conway. The leading edge falls just besides the slip cordon. This is top bowling from the seamer but a wicket continues to evade him.

NZ 19/0 in 11 overs: Ishant's long haul hasn't witnessed an error. He continues to move the ball away from Latham who is content to let the nagging deliveries. The Indian pacers have restricted the run flow but have done little to test the openers.

Ashwin's rolling his arms. First hint of spin in the final?

Well, we've forgotten about our little villain for some time. A short drizzle forces the umpires to halt proceedings. Kohli is displeased with the call and the Indian fielders continue to hang out in the middle even as Conway and Latham have walked off. And, rightly so! All seems a bit funny as Latham and Conway are back on and play resumes in a flash .

NZ 19/0 in 10 overs: Shami hits the deck hard and tests Latham's defence. Not much seam movement again but Shami surprises Latham with a deft away-swinger off the final ball.

Shami into the attack. Would be interesting to note if he can extract some movement off the turf.

NZ 17/0 in 9 overs: Ishant and Bumrah have bowled well. Latham and Conway haven't been able to break free. However, New Zealand have survived the new ball challenge, much like India.

NZ 12/0 in 7 overs: Ishant continues his accurate spell. There's not much lateral movement in place but the probing deliveries outside the off-stump have wound down both Latham and Conway for the moment.

NZ 11/0 in 5 overs: Nervy start for Conway! Ishant gets the ball to swing late as Conway attempts the check drive.  The ball takes a thickish outside edge and trickles down a vacant gully  en route to the boundary. Ishant tempts him to attempt another drive, but the batsman misses it altogether.

NZ 7/0 in 4 overs: Bumrah and Ishant have nailed the length with the new ball as opposed to the fuller lengths that Boult and Southee employed yesterday. Bumrah, however, pays the price for trying to push one fuller as Latham leans into the drive and crunches it through covers.  The Indian slip cordon is chattering quite a bit with Kohli continuing to peck into Latham's ears time and again.

NZ 3/0 in 3 overs: Ishant continues. A lot will depend on the kind of start the New Zealand openers can get. India don't have too many runs to play with here. Will be interesting to see Kohli's field placements as the game progresses. Very good over again.

NZ 2/0 in 2 overs: Bumrah shares the new ball with Ishant. A very good start from him - just one run off the over.

NZ 1/0 in 1 over: Ishant on the money from ball one. Latham is squared up with a snorter that moves in and steadies just that bit to beat the edge. A bit fidgety as he nudges an in-swinger to the on-side and the ball nearly carries to Gill at square leg. Latham finally eases himself with a single to open his account off the final ball.

Kohli in the ears of Latham already.

Ishant Sharma up with the new ball. A nice contest in the pipeline with the in-form southpaw Conway at the crease.

Right, the Kiwi openers Devon Conway and Tom Latham walk out to the middle. Kohli leads his troops to the field with typical enthusiasm as well.

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A bittersweet day for the Indians as they found themselves under the pump with an inspired bowling performance tugging New Zealand ahead at the moment. Kyle Jamieson, the giant was literally unplayable in the morning session - firing Kohli early on before the lower-order gave away soon after.

IND 217 all out in 92.1 overs: Boult to Jadeja. OUT! The umpire raises his finger. A tame dismissal in the end for Jadeja. Boult slides one down the leg-side and the ball happens to clip Jadeja's bat on his swing down the line. Watling gobbles it easily and the Indian innings has come to a quick close.  Jadeja c Watling b Boult 15(53)

IND 217/9 in 92 overs: Two in two for Jamieson! A fifth five-wicket haul as he packs Ishant and Bumrah. Jamieson takes the ball away from Ishant who flaunts his bat at it outside. The edge carries easily to Taylor who has a dolly in his pocket. Bumrah up next and Jamieson fires in a searing in-swinger that crushes his toes. No doubts about that as the umpire raises his finger. Jamieson on a hat-trick and in walks Shami who creams the first ball straight through covers for a boundary. Some cricket, all around!  Ishant Sharma c Taylor b Jamieson 4 (16b), Jasprit Bumrah lbw b Jamieson 0 (1b)

IND 213/7 in 91 overs: Ishant's having a bit of fun in the middle with some fancy feet. Boult continues to teem in and Ishant springs his legs outside off, leaving his leg-stump hanging. Boult fails to seize the opportunity and Ishant escapes, for now.

IND 212/7 in 90 overs: Ishant fends off the Jamieson inswinger without losing his shape. Jamieson continues to push the ball in with vigour and Jadeja negotiates the bowler by presenting a dead bet. The Indians are yet to decode a way to counter to the high release from Jamieson.

Back in action. Jadeja and Ishant walk out to the middle followed by Kane's boys. Important period of play for India as it would aim to sneak in as many runs as possible. Well, there's some sunshine to accompany Jamieson as he resumes bowling.

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IND 211/7 in 89 overs: LUNCH | Boult's fiery over tests Jadeja head to toe but he has managed to scrape through. Top session for the Kiwis. 65 runs and four wickets in 24.4 overs in the first session of Day 3. Skipper Kohli, however, seems to be pleased with way things have panned out as he applauds the batsmen on their way back to the dressing room.

 

IND 206/7 in 87 overs: Fiery over from Boult. Jadeja gets an absolute corker off the first ball. The ball pitches in middle and straightens that wee bit to beat the edge. Nothing that Jaddu could do there. Boult continues to dart the ball in before swinging it away off the last ball. Jadeja's attempted cut picks the edge and flies towards slips and we have a rare sight on offer. Southee drops Jadeja and Boult is absolutely livid.

IND 205/7 in 86 overs: Southee to Ashwin. OUT! Southee gets his man. Right after playing the best shot of the day with a elegant drive through the covers, Southee lures Ashwin into the shot once again. This time he finds the edge and Latham's busy day in the slips continue.  Ravichandran Ashwin c Latham b Southee 22 (27b 3x4)

IND 198/6 in 85 overs: Ashwin with some flashy strokeplay! Hitting his way out of danger is Ashwin. Southee continues to push the ball into the channel outside off and Ashwin goes with the wild heave. The ball clips the thick edge and flies over the slips to the boundary. India wouldn't bother how the runs are going to move in at the moment.

IND 182/6 in 82 overs: Southee finds appreciable swing rightaway with the new cherry. Jadeja does well to play the ball late on its merit. Three maidens on the trot and New Zealand continues to enforce serious pressure in this session.

Jadeja and new man Ashwin facing some hostile bowling. New ball available and Williamson has Southee up with it.

IND 182/6 in 79 overs: Wagner to Rahane. OUT! Dear oh dear, Rahane has gifted this away to the Kiwis. Wagner is ecstatic. The left-armer finally unleashes his nasty bouncer first up in the over and Rahane precariously hits in the air over mid-wicket with no harm done. Wagner returns to push it in once again, this time a bit slower and Rahane attempts a sheepish pull that has undone all the hard work. Latham's the man again as he completes a comfortable catch at square leg.  Ajinkya Rahane c Latham b Wagner 49 (117b 5x4)

IND 180/5 in 78 overs: A positive over for India after a long haul. Rahane and Jadeja both find the boundaries and the captain applauds from the dressing room - every run counts from here on.

Mullet man, Grandhomme to resume after the break

IND 171/5 in 77 overs: DRINKS. Rahane displaying some positive footwork this time around against Wagner. Rahane has stepped out from the crease and has leaned into the drives to negate Wagner's inswinger in make further inroads. Jadeja has got his eye in well and seems to be in touch.

The sun's out in Southampton. Wonder if Indian fans have all got the same thing in mind right now.

IND 156/5 in 74 overs: Jamieson to Pant. OUT! Edged and gone! The Kiwis are running riot. Shoddy work from Pant. Jamieson at his menacing best gets the ball to zip away. Pant falls for the ploy and fluffs his bat at it, well away from his body. The thick edge carries to Latham in slips who completes a safe catch and India is staring down the barrel now. Rishabh Pant c Latham b Jamieson 4 (22b 1x4)

IND 150/4 in 73 overs: Rahane and Pant are in all sorts right now.  Wagner continues to beat Pant's outside edge and uncharacteristically moved to nought off 19 balls. Rahane, on the other hand, has failed to judge the varying seam movement.

 

Wagner replacing Boult


IND 149/4 in 70 overs: Another probing over from Jamieson.
He begins by pushing the ball into Pant from around the wicket and quickly switches over. Pant's then waltzed with a dipping in-swinger that clips his pads . Jamieson is excited and Williamson goes for a review after umpire Gough denies a lbw. Close! Replays suggest that ball was in line and Umpire's call has saved Pant on this instance.


IND 149/4 in 68 overs: Jamieson to Kohli. OUT! Loud shout and given!
Massive moment here! Kohli ponders for long and takes the review. Replays suggest he is plumb in front. And the skipper is a goner.  Terrific bowling from Jamieson and a top decision from Michael Gough. The nip-backer from the big lad continues to generate some sharp deviation and Kohli pushes in front but misses it altogether.  Virat Kohli lbw b Jamieson 44 (196m 132b 1x4)

IND 147/3 in 66 overs: Jamieson continues his momentum from yesterday. Rahane is troubled by the quick dip from the big man as he hits the length first-up.  The conditions swell up against the batsmen - conditions are quite dark even now and the lights are on. If the pacers get their acts right, Kohli and Rahane will have a tough time jostling around in the middle.

Kyle Jamiseon up from the other end

IND 146/3 in 65 overs: Boult runs in with zest but Kohli is off to it in a flash. A couple of solid blocks welcome Boult on this frosty morning.

Trent Boult is up to complete his over from yesterday.

In walk Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane and Kane Williamson's army follow suit. A massive session on the cards here.  Kohli and Kane have a brief chat before taking their positions.

And here we are, Game ON!

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03:16pm IST: Kohli continues to have his throwdowns while a couple of NZ pacers steam in on the practice pitches. The batsmen will have their task cut it out in the first hour and it would be interesting if Williamson would opt the new ball rightaway or persists with older Dukes that has displayed some pronounced movement.

03:12pm IST: Session timings, Day 3

 

02:58pm IST: UPDATE: Yes! We have a start time now. The umpires confirm a 3:30pm IST start.

 

02:53pm IST: The umpires speak to the groundsmen near the pitchside. Is there a conclusive statement? Nope and a regular start is out of question now.

The hover cover has taken up the centre but the outfields continue to be left open. Here's a read from Sunil Gavaskar: Gavaskar questions lack of full covering on England grounds after day one wash-out

02:50pm IST: Both teams continue with discussions in a huddle on the field. The umpires are about to have their inspection any moment now.

02:30pm IST: A delay is on the cards. The groundsmen are rolling of the side covers but a start in 30 minutes looks unlikely with thick clouds hovering over. The umpires will take an official inspection at 2:55pm. INDEED, THE ULTIMATE TEST!

 

02:05pm IST: Conditons are pretty overcast in Southampton as visuals show Kohli, Rahane and Ishant Sharma walk into the ground.

02:00pm IST: Umm, not a fine morning update from Southampton...

 

01:45pm IST: Meanwhile, the Indian skipper will be walking out to bat on 44* as he completes a decade of Test cricket on Sunday. The race to the top has been an incredible treat to behold for all of us.

kohli-
 

01:35pm IST: Well, this could just turn out to be another dampener at the Bowl. Showers are expected to hit as the forecast keeps flipping every minute in Southampton.  Nothing conclusive yet as to whether we could have a delayed start.

Day 2 Review

After a sluggish twist of weather snatched away an auspicious start for the marquee clash, the World Test Championship final got off to a typical Test match in dicey English conditions. New Zealand skipper had no hesitations about his decision on electing to bowl first. The squad did not raise eyeballs either with the Kiwis lining up all four of its frontline seamers - Boult, Wagner, Southee and Jamieson - besides the sly Colin de Grandhomme for company.

The Indian openers, not known for having a fine decade in UK, eventually put early doubters to rest with a solid approach. Rohit Sharma began his first English Test tour as opener in traditional flair - with cuts, flicks and drives breaking the early jitters. His much younger compatriot - Shubman Gill - took time to get off the blocks while displaying tremendous nerve to stay out of his crease to take on the Boults and Southees early on.

READ:

The Kiwi bowlers allowed the openers to settle before a lapse from Rohit cast his downfall and India let the ball loose when runs began to flow in tough conditions. New Zealand tightened its length and swung the ball sharply throughout, forcing the middle-order into the backfoot. While Pujara bid an eternity at the crease, Williamson's men ensured to unsettle him with the odd bouncer and varying seam movement. The India no.3 found himself back in the hut soon after - 8 off 54 deliveries - with a searing Boult trapped him in front with the in-swinger.

India soon was in a spot of bother with the top-order back in the hunt as the scoreboard just approached 100. In came, the Indian skipper Virat Kohli and his deputy Ajinkya Rahane. The duo toiled hard - beaten multiple times by the Kiwi seamers but continued to apply a cautious eye to leave the probing deliveries. While Kohli displayed immaculate control - just a single boundary in his 44 off 124 balls - Rahane looked fidgety before cashing on the off-side on every loose ball presented.

 

However, with bad light stoppages every now and then, the senior batsmen had to change guard multiple times before the umpires eventually decided to call off the third session of play. With conditions not forecast to be much better than what we have seen so far, India will eye to break the game down into phases and rake in as much as possible in its kitty today. Either team will know the weather's running the show, but the side that manages to push in front today, could well boss the little gametime we have for the remaining days.

Sportstar correspondents Shayan Acharya, Wriddhaayan Bhattacharyya and Ayan Acharya discuss their star players and big match-ups in the #WTCFinal.

Day 3, Southampton - chances of rain - According to UK Met department


WHAT THEY SAID


Squads:

India Playing XI: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (c), Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah

New Zealand   Playing XI: Tom Latham, Devon Conway, Kane Williamson(c), Ross Taylor, Henry Nicholls, BJ Watling(w), Colin de Grandhomme, Kyle Jamieson, Neil Wagner, Tim Southee, Trent Boult

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