Kolkata Test: India 239/7 on opening day as top order disappoints

Kolkata, Sep 30: India made 239 for the loss of seven wickets at stumps on Day 1 of the second Test match against New Zealand at the Eden Gardens here on Friday (Sep 30).

Match scorecard; Photo Gallery

Wriddhiman Saha (6) and Ravindra Jadeja (0) were at the crease when poor light forced the umpires to call off the day's play four overs early. (Ind-NZ series schedule)

For the visitors, pacer Matt Henry (3/35) and off-spinner Jeetan Patel (2/66) were the wicket-takers along with Trent Boult (1/33) and Neil Wagner (1/37).

New Zealand bowlers came back strongly in the third session and grabbed the crucial wickets of well set Cheteshwar Pujara (87) and Ajinkya Rahane (77) to end the day's play on a high note.

Rahane and Pujara were the only Indian batsmen who resistence to the Kiwi bowlers and put up a partnership of 141 runs for the fourth wicket. The two middle-order batsmen stayed at the crease for 47.3 overs to bail the team out of trouble.

India lost the other two wickets in Rohit Sharma (2) and R Ashwin (26) in the final session as Blackcaps pushed hosts on the backfoot.

Earlier in the day, India captain Virat Kohli won his second consecutive toss of the three-Test series against New Zealand and elected to bat first here on Friday (Sep 30). But things didn't go India's way in the opening session as hosts lost 3 wickets quickly in the opening session.

But hosts scored 79 runs from 31 overs without losing a wicket in the second session of Day 1. Pujara (64) and Rahane (47) stitched a 90-run-stand for the fourth wicket to revive India in the post-lunch session.

Pujara smashed his third consecutive fifty in as many innings against New Zealand and helped the side settle down. Both the batsmen played some exquisite boundaries en route their innings.

New Zealand bowlers had their moments in the second session which was mostly dominated by the Pujara-Rahane duo.

The Indians found themselves in trouble after losing three quick wickets in the opening session of the game.

New Zealand pacers borrowed the purchase from the Eden pitch and dismissed Shikhar Dhawan (1), Murali Vijay (9) and Virat Kohli (9) cheaply.

Things didn't start well for the hosts as they lost three wickets. Kohli was the third Indian wicket to be dismissed after he once again tried to play the ball moving away from the body.

Virat Kohli's @imVkohli performance in last six innings: 44, 3, 4, 9, 18, 9 (today)#indvsnzhttps://t.co/0gFn0VrAM9 pic.twitter.com/Fkd0M6gvTo

— Thatscricket (@thatscricket) September 30, 2016

Coming out to open Indian innings, Dhawan departed cheaply at 1 after Matt Henry sent back the left-handed batsman in his first over. Meanwhile, his partner Vijay too was dismissed by Henry at an individual score of 9.

India made two changes in the Playing XI by bringing in Dhawan in place of the injured KL Rahul while swing bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar has come in for Umesh Yadav. (Dhawan comes under fire)

#IndvNZ
The teams at Eden Gardens... pic.twitter.com/yiCVyxqtHH

— Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) September 30, 2016

Speculations were rife that Kohli might give senior opener Gautam Gambhir a chance, but that didn't happen as Dhawan got preference over Gambhir.

New Zealand on the other hand have made three changes into the side. Skipper Kane Williamson has been ruled out of the match due to illness and Ross Taylor has been made the stand-in captain.

Jeetan Patel has replaced Mark Craig, Henry Nicholls has come in Williamson's place while pacer Henry has been brought in for Ish Sodhi as the Kolkata pitch seems to be favouring pacers.

India have won the toss and will bat first at Eden Gardens in Kolkata #indvnz ^CE pic.twitter.com/bTi5Mbv7Yd

— BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) September 30, 2016

#TeamIndia has won the toss and elected to bat first in Kolkata @Paytm Test Cricket #INDvNZ pic.twitter.com/SLMbSEMOO2

— BCCI (@BCCI) September 30, 2016

In the middle of a 12-match unbeaten streak at home, India's marauding team will be aiming to reclaim the No. 1 spot in ICC Rankings. India are leading the three-match series 1-0, having won the first Test by 197 runs in Kanpur.

With 10 wins and two draws in their last 12 matches, India have been unstoppable on home turf in a journey that began with the 1-2 series loss against England in December 2012.

Playing XIs:

India: Virat Kohli (captain), Murali Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, R Ashwin, Wriddhiman Saha (wicketkeeper), Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami.

New Zealand: Ross Taylor (captain), Tom Latham, Martin Guptill, Henry Nicholls, Luke Ronchi, Mitchell Santner, BJ Watling (wicketkeeper), Jeetan Patel, Neil Wagner, Matt Henry, Trent Boult.

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