Published 11:24 IST, February 23rd 2020
Cheteshwar Pujara's rock solid defence broken by a dream delivery from Trent Boult
Cheteshewar Pujara's rock solid defence was broken by a dream delivery from Trent Boult during Day 3 of the 1st Test at the Basin Reserve in Wellington
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Cheteshwar Pujara tried his level best to help India stage a fightback during the second innings of the first Test against New Zealand at the Basin Reserve in Wellington on Sunday. His rock-solid batting technique did manage in keeping the Kiwi bowlers at bay but only for some time. Just when it looked like he would carry the momentum forward, his stay at the crease was cut short by a very good delivery.
Trent Boult bamboozles Cheteshwar Pujara
It happened during the 32nd over of India's second innings. On the final delivery, Boult had bowled one outside off stump which came back in sharply and quickly. Meanwhile, Pujara who had already covered all the three stumps seemed clueless for a while as he erred judging the ball completely. He left the ball thinking that it would either miss the stumps or go over it. Unfortunately for him it ended up uprooting his off stump and all his hard work went in vain.
The New Zealand players were ecstatic as they knew the importance of Pujara's wicket as the number three batsman walked back for a hard-working 81-ball 11 while India were struggling. The visitors lost Pujara on the final ball before tea. The video was posted on social media as well. Take a look.
— Cricket Lover (@Cricket50719030) February 23, 2020
New Zealand in the driver's seat
New Zealand were bundled out for 348 after Colin de Grandhomme (43), as well as tail-enders Kyle Jamieson and Trent Boult, made vital contributions lower down the order with scores of 44 and 38 respectively. In reply, India lost the wicket of Prithvi Shaw early but Mayank Agarwal batted beautifully. He scored a half-century and looked solid out in the middle.
However, the visitors lost the prized wickets of Agarwal and skipper Virat Kohli post-tea which opened up the floodgates for the hosts in this Test match. Trent Boult rattled the Indian top-order with three vital wickets including that of Kohli.
11:24 IST, February 23rd 2020