Hello and welcome to Sportstar's coverage of Day 5 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.
What an intriguing day's cricket we've had in Southampton. India lead by 32 with eight wickets in hand. That late dismissal of Rohit Sharma would've hurt. The scoring rate has been slow from both teams. Kohli and Pujara would first aim to steer the team to safety before entertaining any hopes of pushing for a result. Should be a cracker of a final day. The weather forecast too looks promising. So don't forget to tune in. That would be all from our side. Thanks for joining in. Good night.
Jamieson continues... mixing his lengths up.. going short and full in this over. Six runs off that over. That would be stumps.
IND 58/2 in 29 overs: Kohli is hit on the helmet by Southee. The ball clears the cordon and India get 4 leg byes. Kohli then collects three through mid-wicket. 7 off the over.
IND 51/2 in 28 overs: Jamieson's quickly got the ball talking from the other end. Three cracking nip-backers and a cold stare to Pujara. Pujara ducks and jerks and keeps his wicket intact for the over.
Jamieson on from the other end
IND 51/2 in 27 overs: Southee to Rohit. OUT! Rohit's stunned by a cracking in-swinger!
The ploy works perfectly for Southee and the Kiwis. Rohit's set into a couple of away-swingers and Southee finds one to tail in sharply. Rohit's pretty late on it as he misreads the line altogether and offers no shot at it. The ball clips the back pad and just does enough to hit the stumps. Rohit has a talk with Pujara and walks back without going for the referral. Massive blow for India just ahead of close of play.
Rohit Sharma lbw b Southee 30 (81b 2x4)
Southee is back, a rare wicket-less spell for Jamieson
IND 51/1 in 26 overs: 50 up for India as Pujara glides a loose delivery down the line from Wagner. Rohit and Che Pu have waded through some probing overs in the last 30 minutes and India would be delighted if the duo can see them through the day.
IND 47/1 in 25 overs: Jamieson beats Rohit's outside edge again! Draws him into the drive outside off with a gentle away-swinger. Rohit attempts with his blade far from his body and is convincingly squared up. Testing over from Jamieson as he continues to keep Rohit under the pump.
IND 45/1 in 24 overs: Touch play from Rohit. Wagner gives a hint of room and Rohit pushes it elegantly through covers. Just two runs for that but he's growing in confidence. Wagner tests him with a short ball but Rohit goes against his instinct and keeps the ball along the ground.
IND 41/1 in 22 overs: Sharp start for Wagner! Rohit's caught off-guard with some deviation off the seam first-up from Wagner. Wagner continues to drill the ball and finds a couple of thick inside-edges of the opener's blade. Pujara then faces a couple of probing deliveries as the ball keeps it low from the surface. Good testing start for the left-armer.
Wagner into the attack
IND 39/1 in 20 overs: Pujara makes a move with a delightful punch down the ground. Boult continues to juggle between sides and ends up bowling one a tad too full.Pujara gets on it in a flash and punches down the ground for four. Surprising to see KW persist with Boult despite looking a bit pale in this spell.
IND 35/1 in 19 overs: Jamieson unleashes a slew of tricks onto Rohit. A couple of bouncers outside off tempts Rohit, but he resists in biting the bait. Rohit lets it away and Jamieson quickly tucks one into him. He seems more assured of his off-stump now and lets it pass to the keeper, unperturbed.
IND 35/1 in 17 overs: New Zealand slightly letting it loose for Rohit and Pujara to settle in. Jamieson continues to test Rohit with a couple of out-swingers occassionally, but has largely been off radar.
IND 33/1 in 16 overs: Rohit's at ease in pressing forward against Boult. Boult nearly maintains the same line through the over to both Rohit and Pujara while hoping for the tinge of late swing to do the trick.
Boult to continue
IND 32/1 in 15 overs: DRINKS. Nearly through the Che Pu defense! Jamieson gets one to jag back and it nearly clips the top of off. Pujara presses forward but misses as he plays down the wrong line, a reprieve for India ahead of drinks.
Scores Level
IND 32/1 in 14 overs: Boult is back into the attack. There's a short leg in place for Pujara and Rohit. Good field placement from KW. Pujara collects three runs through deep mid-wicket.
IND 28/1 in 13 overs: Another tight over from Southee. Just a single off it. Will be interesting to see Rohit's approach here. He is a naturally aggressive batsman. How long before he tries to go after the bowling?
IND 27/1 in 12 overs: Jamieson bowls a maiden. That was Southee's 600th international wicket. Meanwhile, the ball isn't doing as much as it was in India's first innings but Rohit and Pujara will be wary of the threat posed by NZ quicks.
IND 27/1 in 11 overs: Southee to Gill. OUT! Shubman's on his way. Southee finds him plumb in front. Angling in and straightens to hit middle as Gill attempts a flick across the wicket. Playing down the wrong line and the youngster falls after a brief fight. Shubman Gill lbw b Southee 8 (33b)
IND 24/0 in 10 overs: Rohit marks a fresh guard outside the crease to stave off Jamieson. A couple of jittery hits and misses but Rohit survives. No visible movement off seam for the bowlers in this innings so far.
And here's the big man, Kyle Jamieson into the attack!
IND 21/0 in 9 overs: Assured feet movement from both openers at the moment. The ball has not seamed as much Southee and Boult would have wanted. Gill keeps the scoreboard ticking with a couple of wristy flicks to the on-side.
IND 15/0 in 8 overs: Boult comes over the wicket again to Rohit. Rohit misses out on a juicy full-toss but quickly makes up for it with a glide off the pads to the boundary.
IND 11/0 in 7 overs: Southee sets up Gill with tempting deliveries outside-off with a tinge of late swing. Gill lets them on their way. He reads the ploy of an imminent in-swinger and is at ease when Southee sends one in, this time a lot slower through the air.
IND 11/0 in 6 overs: Boult challenges Rohit's defense continuously from over the wicket. Seems solid at the moment and quickly switches over to the other side. Boult's fails to find swing and Rohit happily pulverizes a loose ball outside off to the point boundary.
IND 7/0 in 5 overs: Rohit sees off Southee with a more pronounced forward press. Southee continues to bowl full by taking the ball away from Rohit and has not attempted the in-swinger to him unlike the deadly nip-backer Gill survived early on.
IND 6/0 in 3 overs: Prodigious swing for Southee. Rohit, lazy to bend forward, ends up edging a couple low to the slips. Finding a little trouble to counter the swing there and it's visible with a solid defensive strokes that have come in straight-on to the bat.
IND 4/0 in 2 overs: Not much swing from Boult here. He gets the bowl to angle from Gill over the wicket. Gill is sharp on the feet and have left them with precision.
IND 3/0 in 1 over: Cracking start for Southee! Nearly got through both Rohit and Gill with contrasting deliveries. Rohit pushes hard at a gentle outswinger and the outside edge nearly carries to gully. Southee continues with the away-swinger to Gill and stifles him with a searing nip-backer that nearly takes the off-stump.
A hefty challenge up ahead for the openers. Tim Southee up with the new ball.
Game ON! The Kiwis take the field and are followed by Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill.
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Would be interesting to head into the Indian camp right now. From 162/6, the Kiwis have slyly managed to get to 249 with a 32-run lead in exhausting conditions. Williamson executed the waiting game perfectly as Southee and Jamieson sneaked in quick runs to see off India's lead. Credit to Shami's scintillating spell, Rohit and Gill are looking at a short lead to surpass. 40 overs this evening could well turn out to be the decider.
Early strikes for NZ could well push Kohli's men on the backfoot and India's approach from thereon with a survival game would put Williamson's men in the driver's set, if they aren't already.
NZ 249 all out in 99.2 overs: Jadeja to Southee. OUT!
A biggie and cleans him up. Southee begins the over with a massive thud into the mid-wicket stands. Jadeja follows up with a quicker one that deflects onto the stumps from Southee's pads.
The Kiwis take a 32-run lead and with
40 overs left in the day, it's make or break for India.
Jadeja into the attack
NZ 242/9 in 98 overs: Boult smashes Shami down the ground. All three stumps in sight and Boult still gets it over Shami's head. The trademark flashy footwork in display as Shami goes all over without attempting the yorker.
Shami returns , time to end with a fifer?
NZ 236/9 in 97 overs: Ashwin to Wagner. OUT! Regulation catch for Rahane in the slips. Pushes hard at the ball outside off and a simple edge has Rahane juggle before completing the catch.
NZ 234/8 in 96 overs: Test Six no. 74 for Southee! He's no mug with the bat and has reminded the Indians once again. Ishant goes full and Southee pummels it straight down the ground for a massive six.
NZ 226/8 in 95 overs: Rusty start for Ash as Southee leans back and slams the short ball through the covers. The tail's reeling in some extra cushion for the Kiwis.
Ashwin into the attack
NZ 221/8 in 94 overs: Ishant to Williamson. OUT! Kane falls on 49! Pokes away from the body and perishes! Ishant pushes one away from the channel outside off and Kane, one away from the milestone, nudges it straight to his counterpart Kohli at third slip. India is nearly through and would aim to restrict the Kiwis within striking distance now. Kane Williamson c Kohli b I Sharma 49 (177b 6x4)
NZ 220/7 in 93 overs: And with a classic drive through the covers, Williamson guides New Zealand into the lead! A rare loosener from Shami and Williamson creams it through off. Signs of frustration from Shami as a sizeable lead could prove costly for India.
NZ 211/7 in 91 overs: NZ edging closer to the lead. India's tail-end woes begin to show up as Southee continues to support his captain with the odd single. Another frustrating pair slowly developing for India. Shami unleashes the bouncer, a yorker-length delivery and the nip-backer but Southee has managed to wade through all of them.
NZ 202/7 in 89 overs: Williamson switches gears effortlessly. Runs coming at a steady rate as KW finds the gaps by using Shami's pace and leads NZ past 200. India's lead is insignificant now and its second innings with the bat would still set a daunting task.
NZ 194/7 in 88 overs: Bumrah is riled up now, perhaps the rush behind Jamieson's catch has helped. Boom puts Southee on the spot with some sharp dippers onto the toe. One of them finds the edge and nearly carries to Rohit at first slip.
NZ 192/7 in 87 overs: Shami to Jamieson. OUT! He's on a roll! A couple of boundaries in the over and Jamieson slogs a biggie down the ground. Well, that was the first six of the match. Excellent comeback from Shami as he fires in the bumper to Jamieson who attempts for the hook but takes the top-edge. Bumrah makes no mistake at long leg and Shami has his fourth wicket of the day! Kyle Jamieson c Bumrah b Mohammed Shami 21 (16b 0x4 1x6)
NZ 180/6 in 86 overs: Bumrah continues with little to offer, surprising to see Ishant's taken off after drinks.
NZ 179/6 in 85 overs: DRINKS! Shami continues to pose problems and Williamson is seen shaking his elbow vigorously after one beats his edge. Seems like his injury has cropped up again. Shami hits Williamson's back leg next ball and there's a huge appeal from the slips. Umpire Illingworth denies the wicket and Kohli refers upstairs. The replays suggest Umpire's Call on impact and Williamson survives by a whisker to drinks.
Williamson in some discomfort with his elbow.
NZ 179/6 in 84 overs: Jamieson on the charge! The big man slogs his way through Ishant's over - pretty much the same stroke on all six deliveries sprayed across the 'V'. A couple of shots are loose in the air but he has managed to push the scoreboard with some quick running between the wickets.
NZ 165/6 in 83 overs: Shami to CDG. OUT! Traps him right in front! Clever bowling from Shami as he goes wider on the crease and drills it in sharply. Grandhomme is late to react to the nip-backer that sneaks through to hit the pads. CDG has a chat with Williamson for a review and decides against it. Kohli's boys right on top now. Colin de Grandhomme lbw b Mohammed Shami 13 (30b 1x4 0x6)
NZ 162/5 in 82 overs: Williamson more proactive in defense against the new ball. Ishant follows a nagging channel outside off but Kane is on the front-foot, attempting to find the gaps.
Ishant replaces Jadeja
NZ 161/5 in 81 overs: Shami finds appreciable swing but misses his line on return. He offers width to Williamson who finally decides to break the shackles by extending his arms through point for a boundary.
New ball taken! Mohammed Shami returns to the attack
NZ 152/2 in 80 overs: Time for the fresh cherry! Jadeja continues to attack the stumps to keep Williamson in check. CDG looks on from the other end, perhaps dreaming of a few biggies from the other end. Kane, meanwhile, is happy to continue his blockathon.
NZ 151/5 in 78 overs: Williamson continues to prod and push the deliveries. Jadeja rushes him by the minute while attacking the stumps. He quickly changes the length to pitch outside off and short, drawing a couple of nervy cuts from Williamson.
NZ 147/5 in 75 overs: Williamson continues to block through the over. Never got going since morning and with wickets tumbling at the other end, Kane would want to continue with the rhythm while Grandhomme aims for the boundaries.
NZ 144/5 in 74 overs: Grandhomme is itching to go for the biggies against Jadeja rightaway. Jadeja does well to leave him back in his strides by opting for the quicker delivery throughout the over. Attempts for some slogs are around the corner.
Time for some spin. Jadeja into the attack.
NZ 139/5 in 73 overs: Bang! Grandhomme begins the session with a thunderous blow through the covers. A touch too full from Bumrah and CDG latches onto it. Well, he's in the mood to go at everything. Grandhomme sets up for another heave but Bumrah keeps down with a quick delivery onto the stumps. Bumrah keeps it quiet for the rest of the over as he tails the ball into the batsman.
Back for the second session. CDG and Williamson at the crease. Bumrah up with the ball.
IND 135/5 in 72 overs: LUNCH | And we head to Lunch with India wrestling back the advantage in that session. Taylor and Williamson frustrated Ishant and Bumrah by grinding it out in the first hour. But it was Shami who made the difference as the first change. He got more bounce and pace and kept Taylor and Williamson guessing. A loose drive from Taylor soon led to his downfall as Shami struck first. Ishant then got Nicholls caught in the slips before Shami returned to clean up Watling with a peach. The fuller length has resulted in NZ's undoing so far.
IND 135/5: Shami to Watling! GONE. Shami, you beauty.
He goes full, Watling is caught napping as the ball hits the top of the middle and off. CDG joins KW. Shami continues with the nagging length - a hint of late shape away from the middle is making it difficult for the new batsman. Splendid over altogether.
BJ Watling b Mohammed Shami 1 (3b)
NZ 135/4 in 70 overs: Ishant with the breakthrough. Change of ends works as Nicholls edges one to Rohit Sharma, who takes a sharp catch in the cordon. BJ Watling joins Williamson. Henry Nicholls c RG Sharma b I Sharma 7 (23b 1x4)
[Apologies, we are facing technical difficulties.]
Ishant replaces Shami
NZ 128/3 in 68 overs: Bumrah has begun to apply pressure from the other end and Shami takes it a notch further. Williamson is forced to play as late as possible as Shami keeps him guessing with the odd nip-backer and the away-swinger. A fine sight this with Shami searing in to keep the NZ skipper guessing.
NZ 128/3 in 66 overs: Shami has his tail up. Nicholls is welcomed with a quick bumper that rocks him off his feet. Kohli and Shami seem interested in it for a bit as they suspect an edge as the ball passes to Pant but decides against the review and rightly so. Shami follows up with an inswinger that induces the edge from Nicholls.
NZ 123/3 in 65 overs: Bumrah looking sharper in this spell. He gets Williamson to press forward and beats him with a fuller-length snorter. Some movement on offer for the sling-man as he fizzes one through the corridor outside the off-stump.
NZ 122/3 in 64 overs: Shami to Taylor. OUT! IN THE AIR AND GONE! A stunning catch from Shubman Gill! Shami finally pushes the ball up further and Taylor goes for the drive. The ball flies to covers and Gill pounces on it with a stunning full-length dive to his right. Kohli is pumped and so are his teammates. Ross Taylor c Shubman Gill b Mohammed Shami 11 (37b 2x4)
NZ 117/2 in 62 overs: Ishant completes the first hour of the session. India has failed to make inroads while Taylor and Williamson have stayed rooted to the crease. Just the 16 runs on the board this morning with the game tugged right in the middle between both sides.
NZ 117/2 in 61 overs: Shami continues to derive bounce that has flailed the batsmen on occasions. The general length has been a tad shorter and that has taken the drive out of the equation.
NZ 117/2 in 60 overs: Ishant gets bounce and inward movement.. Taylor gets a bit of bat and the ball flies past the stretched hand of Pant. The bowling has been top-class from Ishant and Shami. Both have gone full for the large part and have got the ball to move. Williamson and Taylor hanging in there.
NZ 112/2 in 59 overs: Shami is yet to bring out his skiddy bouncer. He has brought KW onto the front foot without much luck so far. Shami has been the most threatening Indian bowler this morning.
NZ 112/2 in 58 overs: Ishant hits the length and Williamson is content to leave the deliveries without much fuss.
NZ 111/2 in 57 overs: A fiery start for Shami! Some pronounced swing first-up for Shami as the ball zips past Taylor's bat. Pant is taken by surprise and wobbles before collecting the ball. Shami extracts some steep bounce to hit Taylor's gloves and there's a visible change in intensity on the field.
Shami into the attack
NZ 106/2 in 56 overs: Bumrah fails to apply pressure on Williamson. The pretty balls outside off have Williamson nonchalantly leave them out - he even has an easy eye on the ball, all the way to the keeper. And there's a quick shift off the last couple of deliveries as Bumrah tails the ball into Williamson's defence, forcing the batsman to put that extra effort.
NZ 106/2 in 55 overs: Ishant continues to keep the batsmen on their toes. Williamson cops a quicker one that shoots up from the length. The pressure is only on from one end as Bumrah continues to run under the radar.
NZ 103/2 in 53 overs: Ishant continues to trouble Taylor with the inswinger. Taylor struggles to resist his front-foot from moving across to the off-side and has Ishant strike the pads once again. Just about the perfect start here for Ishant as he continues to probe both batsmen on the fuller length.
NZ 102/2 in 51 overs: Ishant finds swing straightaway . Taylor plants his foot outside off as Ishant manages to tail the ball in sharply. The ball wraps the pads twice but the sharp swing down the line has put Taylor out of danger.
Ishant Sharma from the other end
NZ 102/2 in 50 overs: Sharp start for Bumrah as he gets his length right this time. Bumrah draws Williamson forward off the fourth ball and is beaten fair and square by a beauty. Bumrah induces the first edge of the day as Williamson gently pokes at a delivery just outside the off-stump. Soft hands and it does not carry on the full to slips.
Here we are, finally! After an eternity, we have Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor walk out to the middle. The Indian huddle has a brief chat and walk to their positions. Jasprit Bumrah up with the ball.
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03:45pm IST: Day 5, Session Timings (IST)
03:42pm IST: UPDATE: We are set to start at 4pm IST with seven overs lost to a drizzle.
03:30pm IST: The umpires are out for an inspection. No umbrellas pointing skywards and the large sheets around the pitch are being taken off.
03:17pm IST: The rain has come to a halt - covers are expected to be taken off soon.
03:08pm IST: Kohli's busy munching on something while having a brief chat with Ravi Shastri. The super soppers are on and about with a light annoying drizzle for company.
03:03pm IST: 27 minutes before we start to lose out on the 98 overs that are scheduled to be bowled today.
02:56pm IST: That's a gentle way of looking at the situation. Extended covers are on at the Bowl as rain hits a minute ahead of scheduled start.
02:50pm IST: PITCH REPORT - Ian Bishop says the tinge of green will continue to provide assitance to the seamers while Sunil Gavaskar adds that the rough footmarks that have begun to show up at one end will see Ashwin and Jadeja prove to be more important today. He adds that a seamer and spinner from either ends could be the way to go this morning.
02:35pm IST: On course for a scheduled start, yet not clear off a few hiccups
02:30pm IST: The Indian bowlers will be aiming to exploit the duo's poor overseas form in recent years in the first session
02:15pm IST: India will be aiming for some quick wickets, particularly of the two that will return to the crease - Williamson and Taylor. Here's a look at their head-to-head battles:
02:08pm IST:
Exciting morning on the cards. Dinesh Karthik in his chat with the broadcaster says India will need to bowl out the Kiwis within the next 50 overs to stand a chance to win this final. What do you reckon, folks?
02:03pm IST: An hour away from action, folks! Virat Kohli is seen charged up in the Indian team huddle on a cloud morning at the Ageas Bowl.
01:32pm IST: Day 5, Session Timings (IST)
12:55pm IST: No heartbreaking forecasts for the day. Big day ahead!
Chances of rain - Southampton - According to UK Met department
Day 5 Preview
After a woeful day four washout on Monday, here we are in anticipation of a see-saw tussle on day five. With 196 overs of play possible with rain hopefully off the radar for two days, the possibility of an undisputed champion is simmering at the Hampshire Bowl.
After seeming to be down and out for the whole of Day 3, India lifted itself up, moments ahead of close of play with the wicket of Devon Conway who put up a strong start for the Kiwis. Kohli's men would have had some serious discussions of a fiery start to Day 4, however, a soaking wet morning put their plans to the backseat. They have another shot at it today.
READ:
With Williamson and Taylor expected to take time to settle back in, the Indian bowlers have a massive opportunity to unsettle New Zealand's first innings with a couple of early breakthroughs.
The weather is likely to remain conducive for play for the rest of the game and Williamson's men will be confident to take the leap if they surpass India's first innings tally of 217.
The game is very much alive, folks and the winner of the first session is about to have a major hand in the result moving forward.
READ:
Sportstar correspondents Shayan Acharya, Wriddhaayan Bhattacharyya and Ayan Acharya discuss their star players and big match-ups in the #WTCFinal.
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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