Why the Black Caps will be confident going into Day 3

Publish Date
Sunday, 20 June 2021, 8:00AM
AP

AP

Black Caps paceman Kyle Jamieson says the New Zealand bowling unit will take a lot of confidence after an even start to the World Test Championship final against India in Southampton.

Bad light ended play early while rain stoppages saw the sides leave the field a number of times on day two following a full opening day due to rain.

At stumps, India were 146 for three with skipper Virat Kohli (44) and Ajinka Rahane (29) steering the innings back on track after the side lost three wickets for 18 runs following a strong start.

After winning the toss and bowling first, New Zealand failed to get an immediate breakthrough as Indian openers Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill survived the overcast conditions.

Jamieson eventually got the breakthrough after the openers put on 62, when Sharma edged to Tim Southee at third slip for 34. Neil Wagner then had Gill caught behind for 28 before Trent Boult trapped Cheteshwar Pujara for eight which left India 88 for three.

"I think it's pretty even at the moment. A pretty good day of test cricket really," Jamieson said. "The disruptions didn't help the momentum we were trying to get that we had at periods of time. They played really well. They put away the bad balls when they were there and they were really patient outside off.

"Our plan was to stick around there and credit to them they were able to play pretty well. We were able to keep things relatively restricted and grabbed three important wickets as well."

Jamieson ended the day with 1-14 from 14 overs as he kept the Indians at bay from one end.

"It was obviously pretty crucial to try and keep the ball in reasonable areas for a long period…it was good to halt their momentum a little bit. How we did that has a bowling unit throughout the day after they started off pretty well was pleasing and it kept things in the balance very nicely.

"Obviously we know they are a quality lineup from 1 to 11. There's a reason why they've been one of the top teams in the world for a long period of time. For us, as a unit it was about trying to keep the ball in the right areas for long periods and I think we were able to do that or the most part today and we'll certainly take a lot of confidence out of that moving into tomorrow."

Just 64.4 overs were bowled on day two and rain is also expected to cause possible delays tomorrow at Southampton.

This article was first published on nzherald.co.nz and is republished here with permission

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