IND vs NZ 2nd Test: New Zealand lead by 301 runs at Day 2 Stumps, score 198/5
Pune, Oct 25: India's inadequacies against quality spin bowling stood thoroughly exposed, leaving the side staring at its first ever home Test series loss to New Zealand after the visitors claimed a formidable 301-run lead on day two of the second Test here on Friday.
Tom Latham (86) led New Zealand's charge with the bat after Mitchell Santner's brilliant 7/53 destroyed India. His knock consolidated a handy 103-run first-innings lead that the Kiwis had grabbed before reaching 198/5 at stumps.
Tom Blundell (30 not out) had Glenn Phillips (7 not out) for company when stumps were drawn. The only silver lining for India was Washington Sundar's continuing good show. He completed 11 wickets in the match, adding four more to his career-best first-innings haul of seven.
New Zealand are looking at a historic maiden Test series win in India, having first come here in 1955-56.
None of the New Zealand batters faced any apparent trouble batting on the pitch shortly after the star-studded Indian line-up cut a sorry figure for the second time in this series, making elementary mistakes.
In the last Test in Bengaluru, their all-time lowest score at home of 46 all-out caused India's first loss to New Zealand in 36 years in their own backyard.
India haven't lost a Test series at home since their defeat to England in the 2012-13 season and their unbeaten record in 18 series since then is under serious threat now.
India's highest successful chase in Tests at home was 387 against England at Chennai in December 2008.
On Friday afternoon, India folded at a mere 156 in 45.3 overs as spunky New Zealand continued to perform way better than the hosts.
As India endured yet another 'one bad session of play', six wickets fell in the morning for a mere 91 runs which made the pitch look unfavourable for batting when it was not the case.
Skipper Latham led from the front as he blunted the Indian spinners with ease but New Zealand batters deserved full credit for executing their plans.
The Kiwis' batters were formidable in defence while they rotated the strike deftly to keep pressure on the Indians.
Latham did well to raise hopes for a first century since December 2022 but Washington Sundar ended his progress at 86 off 133 balls with 10 fours.
Every added run tightened the screws further on India whose spinners appeared to have been out-bowled by their Kiwi counterparts.
While Sundar completed his maiden 10-for in Tests with 4/56 after his 7/59 in the first innings, R Ashwin took 1/64. Ravindra Jadeja (11-1-50-0) continued to be wicket-less in the game wherein spinners have ruled the roost.
While Santner's orthodox spin tested the Indians' defence and resolve, India's failure to rotate strike added to their woes.
The biggest shock for India in the day arrived in the 24th over when their batting superstar Virat Kohli missed a juicy full toss from Santner to be cleaned up for a nine-ball one.
The sight of Kohli missing an innocuous full toss angling into his wickets, going past his awkwardly swinging bat to crash into the middle and leg stumps and leaving the batter stare at the ground beneath him in utter despair, was something that will linger for some time to come.
Yashasvi Jaiswal had done fairly well to reach 30 with four boundaries but going with hard hands to defend a delivery outside off, spinning away from his bat to take an edge to the first slip, gave Glenn Phillips his first wicket.
If that wasn't enough, Rishabh Pant's (18) failure to read the lack of bounce while going for a mighty heave across the line against the part-time spin of Phillips, resulted in the ball crashing into his off-stump, leaving India in a desperate situation at 83 for five.
Sarfaraz Khan (11), whose recent outings include 222 not out in Irani Cup and 150 in the last innings at Bengaluru, only had himself to blame after recklessly hitting one straight to mid-off for William O'Rourke to grab an easy catch, off Santner.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Air India pilot detained in Vancouver over suspected alcohol use; Delhi flight delayed
New Delhi: An Air India pilot was detained by Canadian authorities at Vancouver International Airport after concerns were raised about his fitness to operate a flight due to a suspected smell of alcohol, leading to a delay of a Delhi-bound flight last week.
The incident occurred on December 23, just ahead of Christmas, when the pilot was scheduled to operate Flight AI186 from Vancouver to Delhi. According to reports, a staff member at the airport’s duty-free store alerted authorities after either seeing the pilot consume alcohol or noticing the smell while he was purchasing it, NDTV reported.
The authorities subjected the pilot to a breath analyser test, which he failed, and he was subsequently detained, the reports said.
In a statement, Air India said the delay was caused after authorities raised concerns regarding the pilot’s fitness for duty.
“Flight AI186 from Vancouver to Delhi on December 23 experienced a last-minute delay after one of the cockpit crew members was offloaded prior to departure. Canadian authorities raised concerns regarding the pilot's fitness for duty, following which the crew member was taken for further inquiry,” the airline said.
"Air India regrets the inconvenience caused to its passengers and is fully cooperating with the local authorities. The pilot has been taken off flying duties during the process of the enquiry. The airline maintains a zero-tolerance policy towards violations of applicable rules and regulations. Pending the outcome of the investigation, any confirmed violation will attract strict disciplinary action in line with company policy." he statement said, adding that passenger safety remains its highest priority.
Meanwhile, in a separate incident, aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has issued a show-cause notice to an Air India cockpit crew for operating multiple flights between Delhi and Tokyo despite being aware of serious compliance lapses. The pilots have been asked to submit their explanation within two weeks.
