Kyle Jamieson, New Zealand pacer feels the ongoing World Test Championship (WTC) final against India is evenly poised after the end of the second day’s play on Saturday.
Kyle Jamieson had broken a promising opening partnership between Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill, the pair adding 62, and was generally satisfied with the performance of the Kiwi bowlers on the second day that was disrupted by bad light after the first day was washed out by incessant rain.
Kyle Jamieson Rues That Disruption Due To Bad Light Didn’t Help Momentum But Admits India Played Really Well
Captain Virat Kohli and vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane struck an unbeaten 58-run partnership for the fourth wicket to navigate the team to 146/3 at the end of the day’s play on Saturday.
“It’s probably pretty even at the moment. It was a pretty good day of Test cricket. The disruptions didn’t help some of the momentum we were trying to get and that we had at periods of time,” said Jamieson during a virtual press conference.
“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 played pretty well. But I think we were able to keep things relatively restricted and grabbed three important wickets as well,” he added.
Virat Kohli is batting on 44 while Ajinkya Rahane remains unbeaten on 29 as India will look to continue to build on the solid foundation laid on Day 3.
Kyle Jamieson Pleased To See Bowling Efforts Go New Zealand’s Way
Kyle Jamieson said no one among fans, experts, and cricketers want the WTC final to get curtailed by rain or bad light and is hopeful to have some good game time on Sunday.
“Oh, yeah, certainly pretty frustrating, when you bowl three or four balls and you go off and then come back on for another couple and then you go off again, it’s not how you’d like it ideally. Again, it’s just the cards we’ve been dealt, and it’s the same with rain. We’ve all played in games throughout our careers where we’ve been off for rain or off for bad light.”
“Obviously, the spectacle is such a special one for everyone involved, and you don’t want that to be curtailed by bad light or rain, but it’s part and parcel of what we sign up for, and hopefully, we get some good amount of play in tomorrow,” said Jamieson while replying to a query from ANI.
The 26-year-old was particularly miserly, taking 1/14 from 14 overs as India finished the day on 146/3 from 64.4 overs. Kyle Jamieson was pleased with New Zealand’s bowling on day two of the WTC final against India.
“It’s obviously pretty crucial to try to keep the ball in reasonable areas for long periods and those runs are there, but it was just good to halt the momentum a little bit. How we did that as a bowling unit throughout the day after they started pretty well, was pleasing and it kept things in the balance very nicely,” said Jamieson.
“We know they are a quality line-up from one to 11 and there is a reason why they have been one of the top teams in the world for a very long time. For us, as a unit, it was about keeping the ball in the right areas for long periods and I think we were able to do that for the most part today. We’ll certainly take a lot of confidence out of that moving into tomorrow,” he signed off.
India lost their first wicket for 62 runs on board in 20.1 overs as Rohit Sharma was dismissed for 34 off 68. Kyle Jamieson has caused uncertainty by going wide on the crease, and the outswing takes the edge for a lovely low catch at third slip by Tim Southee.
Neil Wagner swung the first ball back into Shubman Gill, and two balls later he bowled the same length, making him push at the ball, which held its line this time and took the edge as India lost their second wicket on 63 in 24.3 overs with Shubman Gill being dismissed after scoring 28 off 64.