India are almost out of the contest in the second Test against New Zealand in Pune. The host nation is behind the Kiwis, with the latter taking their lead to 301 runs with three days left in the same. New Zealand posted 259 runs in their first innings, but the Men in Blue were bowled out for 156. The likes of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli failed to make significant contributions.
In fact, Virat missed a full toss and was clean-bowled. Mitchell Santner took seven wickets, while two went to Glenn Phillips. Former New Zealand pacer Simon Doull said that Indian batters are not good at playing spinners, and they are the same as players of other teams.
He also mentioned Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Gautam Gambhir, VVS Laxman, and Rahul Dravid, who were top performers against the spinners.
“I think it is a misconception that the current Indian cricketers are good players of spin bowling. They are the same as batters of other teams. They don’t hold the edge anymore. The days of VVS Laxman, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, and Gautam Gambhir are over. Sachin was good against spin and even the players before him,” Doull said on JioCinema.
For India, Washington Sundar has been the only performer. He took seven wickets in the first innings and has dismissed four batters so far in the second.
Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra scored fifties for the visiting team in the first innings. The Kiwis are leading the three-match series 1-0, having won the opening Test by 8 wickets in Bengaluru.
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