By India scored 425 runs in 86.3 overs, losing just four wickets. There was still a lot of batting to do, and they’d handled the second new ball brilliantly. Now it was all about patience.
Rishabh Pant chose to go for it on the third ball of the 87th over. And swing he did—possibly the hardest he’s ever struck a ball. In one beautiful shot, India moved from in command of the game to hanging by a thread.
This Test was one of the most conditionally dependent matchups ever. We anticipated the morning would breathe new life into it, but New Zealand had the old ball and bowled brilliantly without making a breakthrough.
Sarfaraz Khan and Rishabh Pant settled in and punished the Kiwis by scoring more than five runs each over. They appeared to be merely knocking the ball around, yet the scoreboard continued to tick. The question now was whether India should consider issuing a declaration. After being in a difficult situation, they were ahead of the game.
Will O’Rourke was spraying the ball everywhere, Ajaz Patel was pushed back into hiding, and Henry and Southee could not exert any serious pressure. New Zealand turned to their part-timers, looking for a miracle as the ball softened.
Pant was unconcerned about Tim Southee’s swing. Sure, he was playing at half his typical frenetic, pixie-like energy level due to his knee. But, let’s be honest, who among us hasn’t been tempted to slog-sweep the fresh ball as the game becomes intense?
That shot destroyed KL Rahul and Glenn Phillips—it also broke India.
Rishabh Pant dropped down on his good knee and sent the ball flying over the Toblerone, the fence, the bottom tier, the upper deck, the roof, and out of Chinnaswamy’s reach.
At that point, India took the lead for the first time in the match. It seemed like this was it—they would pull it off. The fresh ball had been destroyed.
But then the umpires dug inside their box and discovered another new ball. A second new ball. The issue for India was that the ball moved twice as much. Pant was the first to find out.
