IND vs NZ Live Score, Day 3, 1st Test: India 134/2, trails by 222 runs; Kohli, Sarfaraz stabilise

Bouncer by O’Rourke. Kohli ducks and lets it go. And that’s a six! Sarfaraz stands up tall and slaps it over deep backward point for a maximum. Creative by Sarfaraz! Four more as he arches backwards to hit it over slips to third man fence. Ajaz back. Just two runs off the over. 

Beauty! Cracking cover drive and it rolls away to the cover fence. Four more! This time, it is Sarfaraz who guides it past slips for a boundary. O’Rourke pulls it back in the end. Nine runs. Ajaz continues. Lots of running between the wickets. Kohli pushing for twos. Shout for lbw but it was going down leg. 

O’Rourke has been brought back. Kohli takes a single to hand the strike over to new batter Sarfaraz Khan. Off the mark with a single. No king pair for India so far. Just three runs this over. Ajaz is back and another close call. Could have ricocheted off Kohli’s back leg pad into the leg stump. Sarfaraz gets down and sweeps it to the ropes not once, but twice! 

Four for Kohli! Cuts it the covers to the fence. WHAT WAS THAT? Rohit gets an inside edge and saw it bounce back in slow motion. It bumped into the stumps before he could react. Could have kicked it away but a little too late. Another wicket by Ajaz. 

Pressure off of Kohli. Gets off the mark with a single as the crowd cheers him on. Fuller length and driven away to sweeper cover fence. Four followed by a SIX! Hung back and pulled over deep mid-wicket. More runs! Four more and brings up the fifty for Rohit. 

Henry this over. just two runs. Keeping the line tight. Kohli is yet to open his account. Ajaz spinning it past Kohli, very close to the bat one time. But another maiden for him. 

Henry into the attack. Lovely drive through covers by the skipper for a four. Four more! Edges it between slips and covers to third man fence. First ball and Ajaz strikes! Jaiswal moved down the track but it spun past him to the keeper. Blundell takes the bails off. Virat Kohli comes in. Wicket maiden for Ajaz. 

Time for the third session. Meanwhile, there were visuals of Rishabh Pant warming up with the bat. Hopefully, he is fit enough to play today.

Azaj Patel with the ball. Close call! Young at short leg got a hand on it but went through. Jaiswal drives it through deep extra cover for a four. Could have been another four but saved by the fielder in the deep.

Glenn Phillips into the attack. Probably a bait over before Tea. Jaiswal drives but only gets a single. Short ball but Rohit can only get a single. Tea taken. India trails by 299 runs. 

O’Rourke again. Full and wide of off and Jaiswal drives towards square and get another boundary. So, plenty of runs for India in the last 15 minutes. Defends the rest of the ball. 

Too wide and full by Ajaz to Jaiswal, who drives towards extra cover for another four. He sweeps off the next ball but Phillips in the deep cuts it to just a single. Terrific fielding. 

O’Rourke continues from the other end. Jaiswal finally gets to drive him and he does it well towards cover for four. Good shot. Another terrific shot by Jaiswal. Short ball and Jaiswal cuts past point for four. 

Ajaz Patel into the attack, for the first time in this match! He is right on the money from the start. He misses length off the final ball of the over, on the pads and Rohit flicks it towards square leg for four. 

Henry. Jaiswal charges down the track and smacks the ball towards mid off. The fielder there dives to get a hand on the ball to save a certain boundary but Jaiswal manages to run three. 

William O’Rourke into the attack. Two runs in that over. O’Rourke with his pace keeps the outside edge in play against Rohit. 

Henry challenging Jaiswal’s outside edge. Not much movement though in the air. Even the carry to the keeper has reduced over the two days. A boundary to end the over. Played with soft hands that goes past the slip cordon for four. 

Southee. Width on offer outside off and Rohit Sharma cuts over the point fielder for four. 

Henry continues. Full and on the pads, Rohit flicks the ball past mid on for four. Another four, a ball later. Similar delivery and this time Rohit plays it towards square leg. 

Southee again. Jaiswal taking his time. India has a massive margin to cover. 

Matt Henry from the other end. Jaiswal defends with the soft hands and opens the face of the bat at the last minute, balls goes into the gap between point and gully and gets him a single. 

And we’re back. Rohit and Yashasvi are at the crease for India. What can the openers do? All to watch for. Southee begins. An inside edge that goes behind Jaiswal, takes a single. Rohit on strike and gets off the mark immediately. Two runs off the over. 

All eyes on India now. It trails by 356 runs and has a mammoth task at hand. If India loses the opening Test, which looks quite likely at this stage, how does this impact its chances to make a third consecutive WTC final appearance?

What happens if India loses first Test against New Zealand? - WTC final qualification scenario

A loss or a draw in the first Test against New Zealand will not jeopardise India’s hopes of making it to a third consecutive World Test Championship (WTC) final.

Field changed for Ravindra against Siraj. Finds the gap for two runs. Connects much better and goes to deep mid-wicket fence for a four. Wide yorker to Ravindra, punishes it. Streches across to get it over backward point. Maximum! Skips down the track and sails over deep mid-wicket. OUT! Gets a top edge while trying a slog sweep and Jurel takes the catch. 

Kuldeep into the attack. LBW appeal but doesn’t go beyond the shouts. Six for Ravindra! He slog-sweeps it into the stands. Another appeal, looked very close but Rohit doesn’t budge. Third appeal and given! Ajaz takes the review. Hitting the stumps and finally, the decision goes Kuldeep’s way. William O’Rourke is the last batter. 

Caught behind! Ravindra given out and after a long discussion decides to take the review. A spike seen after the ball crosses the bat and it looks like the umpire has gotten it wrong this time. Safe. Ajaz gets off the mark with a drive through covers all the way to the fence. 

Southee enjoys his time in Bengaluru. Another six off Siraj, a pull over midwicket. OUT! Jinxed it. Southee miscues the slower delivery and is caught at cover. He falls for 65 off 73 balls. 

Ajaz Patel at the crease. Maiden for Bumrah.

Southee continues to play and miss. Another luckless day for Indian bowlers so far. 

Back-to-back boundaries for Southee off Siraj. Easy pickings for Southee as he flicks both balls towards leg side. 10 runs added in that over. Lead now 316 runs. 

Bumrah continues. Southee gets to his half-century with a single. Just three off the over. As India’s chances start looking gloomy, the sky resonates with it as well. Starting to get slightly overcast in Bengaluru. 

Bumrah starts. Choosing to go down leg throughout, prompting Ravindra to try and nick it to the leg side. Jurel having to track the ball. A maiden to begin the second session. Siraj gets the ball. Beating Southee by a whisker who is a run away from fifty. Jurel couldn’t pick it up this time and goes for four byes. Lead is now 300+ runs. 

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IND vs NZ: Rachin Ravindra becomes first New Zealand batter to score hundred in India since 2012

Ross Taylor was the last player from New Zealand to do so when he scored 113 off 127 balls at the same venue in Bengaluru in 2012.

India has taken the new ball. Siraj into the attack. Southee continues to attack and it coming off very well. A pull over square leg for a six now. Southee ALMOST chops it on to the stumps but with a good footwork, he manages to kick the ball away. 

Lunch has been taken. 

Ashwin. Ravindra sweeps for four to get to his century! Superb innings this off 124 balls. His second Test century. Southee makes merry of Ashwin’s wayward lines. Three fours and a six came in that over. 

Ravindra now slog sweeps Jadeja towards midwicket for a SIX! Brilliant batting this. Follows it up with a four behind square. He’s on 99 now. 

Ravindra and Southee have added more than 50 runs for this wicket. If India looked to turn things around 30 minutes ago, New Zealand has taken hold of the game again. Ravindra once again goes on backfoot and punches the ball towards midwicket for four. Southee finishes the Ashwin over with a SIX. 

Ravindra moves into his 70s with a couple of boundaries off Jadeja. This is a superb innings by Ravindra. The lead is inflating. 

India has put a spread-out field against Ravindra. Ashwin beats him on a couple of occasions, but he takes a single off the final ball of the over to keep the strike. 

R Ashwin into the attack for the first time today. Low full toss and Ravindra slog sweeps it for a SIX over long on. Beautifully timed. 

Ravindra hits back-to-back boundaries off Kuldeep to not only get to his fifty but also takes New Zealand past 200-run lead. Southee ends the over with another boundary. 

Tim Southee and Rachin Ravindra continue to keep the scoreboard ticking. Kuldeep has been luckless this morning, plenty of plays and misses. Beautiful bowling by Kuldeep. 

And another wicket for Jadeja. Matt Henry hit him for two consecutive boundaries, but Jadeja strikes back as he cleans him up off the very next ball. Seventh wicket down for New Zealand. 

Jadeja. OUT! Phillips is gone. Straighter one, he goes back to defend but the ball goes past him and rattles the stumps. India crawling back into the game. Matt Henry at the crease now. 

Kuldeep Yadav from the other end. A huge appeal for LBW against Ravindra but umpire says not out. Indians are excited and have taken review. Wickets and Impact comes down to umpire’s call so Ravindra survives. SIX! A huge hit by Phillips straight over the bowler’s head. 

Ravindra Jadeja into the attack. Seems like India is luring Phillips to hit the spin. There’s a gully and a slip in place. Phillips looking to slash Jadeja but gets beaten. 

Phillips places it between covers. A long chase for Ashwin who gets to it in time and saves a run. Five runs off the over. Bumrah back. On the pads towards mid-wicket, Ravindra takes a single. Edged! But goes between slips and gully to the ropes. Four for Phillips. Swing and a miss! Looks like Phillips wants to go big. 

Four for Ravindra. Punches it down and bounces past Siraj to long-off fence. A couple of singles and that’s six runs off Siraj’s over. Bumrah starts with one that nips back in, hitting Blundell’s back thigh. Edged and taken! Rahul at second slip holds on to the ball. Glenn Phillips comes in. Wicket maiden for Bumrah.

Ravindra could have taken his stump off. Gets the inside half of the bat on it but is safe. Takes a single to hand strike to new man in, Tom Blundell. Bumrah made it difficult for him but gets the line wrong on the last which is flicked to fine leg ropes. Gets off the mark. 

Siraj keeping up the tighter line. Hits Mitchell on the pads but was going down leg. Switches it up this time and beats the batter. An edge but beats the slip to third man fence. And OUT! Luck doesn’t go his way this time as he gets another edge which is caught by Jaiswal at gully. Held on to it well as the ball was going to the left of him. 

Tidy over by Bumrah. Ravindra got a bit of the bat on a few deliveries but that fourth one went dangerously close to the bat. Beats him to the keeper. Takes no chance in the next and lets it by. Blocks the last one to end the maiden over. 

Siraj continues. Ravindra gets a thickish edge towards mid-wicket and takes a single. His partner, however, hasn’t been able to get going just yet. Mitchell taking his sweet time to open his account today.

Bumrah this over. Ravindra shouldering arms, ball moving just across. Defending a few. Unable to get it past the fielder. Beats covers but Siraj stops it from running to the ropes. Three runs off the last ball. 

Siraj to get things going for India. Ravindra starts with a cracking shot to the ropes. Flicks it through mid-wicket. On the defensive for the next two. Going down leg in the fourth and Siraj continues the same line, getting him on the pads, but that was missing. Five runs. 

News from the ground is that Dhruv Jurel will continue keeping as Rishabh Pant nurses the injury he picked up yesterday. We’re hoping it isn’t anything serious and we will see him back in action soon. 

It’s a bright and sunny morning in Bengaluru. The pitch has dried up, revealing plenty of cracks. We have a good day of cricket coming up. Hopefully, the weather stays clear throughout. 

Just a few more minutes before Day 3 is underway. Rachin Ravindra (22) and Daryl Mitchell (14) will come out to bat for New Zealand. 

“Unfortunately, the ball hit straight on his kneecap, the same leg he has done a surgery on. He has got a little bit of swelling on it, and the muscles are quite tender at this point of time. It is a precautionary measure, we don’t want to take a risk, Rishabh doesn’t want to take a risk.”

Here are a couple of the unwanted records that India made on Day 2

Lowest Test total at home - READ

Third-lowest total in Test overall - READ

Yesterday, Kohli came out to bat number three in Tests after an eight-year gap. However, he got out for a nine-ball duck. 

“After a long time, KL has found a place at No.6. So, we want to make him bat there. The experienced players are the ones who have to take that extra responsibility, and this time it was Virat. He was the one who was ready to do that. We asked him whether he can bat at No. 3, because we wanted to give Sarfaraz [Khan] also the position in which he usually bats. We didn’t want to change Rishabh [Pant] and KL, and hence Sarfaraz went at four and Virat batted at three,” Rohit explained that decision. 

In short, yes. 

“I am hurting a little bit, because I made that call. But we want to challenge ourselves. This time it didn’t come off, the challenge that was thrown at us. We didn’t respond well, and we found ourselves in a situation where we got bowled out for 46 runs. As a captain, it definitely hurts to see that number, but in 365 days, you will make two or three bad calls, that’s absolutely fine, I guess,” Rohit said after the day’s play. 

After the first day’s play was called off without a ball being bowled due to rain, India, questionably, chose to bat and suddenly Wellington felt much closer than 7,000 miles away.

Here’s Dhruva Prasad taking you through second day’s play:

IND vs NZ, 1st Test, Day 2: New Zealand grabs India by collar, skittles host for its lowest total at home

New Zealand dominates India in Test match with Conway's century, India's lowest total, and Kiwi bowlers' brilliance.

- India opted to bat first in overcast conditions; brought in Kuldeep Yadav for Akash Deep

- Immediately regretted the decision as New Zealand pacers got plenty of movement on and off the pitch

- Five Indian batters scored a duck as India was shot down for its lowest-ever total at home - 46 inside 32 overs

- Matt Henry picked five wickets while William O’Rourke took four. 

- When Kiwis came to bat, the weather got clear in Bengaluru and there was less movement for Indian bowlers 

- Opener Devon Conway hit a brilliant 91 as New Zealand finished the day at 180/3 

- The spin trio - Ashwin, Jadeja, and Kuldeep - took a wicket each

“Slightly chilly, the sun is out and totally dry,” our reporter Dhruva Prasad with the good morning text. 

Welcome to the live coverage of the third day of the opening Test between India and New Zealand being played in Bengaluru. Stay tune for the live updates.