IND vs NZ: All's not well for india in Wellington

Kyle Jamieson celebrates the wicket of India skipper Virat Kohli at Wellington yesterday. Pic/Getty Images

Two good balls and two injudicious shots summed up India's batting on the opening day of the first Test match at the Basin Reserve here on Friday.

Skipper Virat Kohli (2) and Mayank Agarwal (34) were guilty of attempting careless strokes while Prithvi Shaw (16) and Cheteshwar Pujara (11) were recipients of two absolute jaffas.

India will be slightly disappointed finishing the rain-affected day on 122-5 because the pitch didn't have the demons as predicted by many experts. The much-hyped green surface had turned brown in patches by the time the match got underway on Friday. The dampness also nullified the pace of the surface, especially in the first hour.

The Indian batsmen had worked out that driving on the rise was always going to be risky and accumulation of runs with dabs or glides was the mode of the day. However, it is difficult to control natural instincts and muscle memory as evident in Shaw's dismissal. It was a dream ball by Tim Southee, pitching on middle and hitting the top of off stump. Critics were quick to point out Shaw's failure to move his feet in his dismissal.

The shot that would disappoint the Indian coaching staff was that of the captain. New Zealand had played on Kohli's ego and lured the Indian No. 4 to dominate from the outset. Kohli has been around for a long time and one doubts he would make the same mistake again in the second innings.

Little can be faulted about Pujara or to an extent Hanuma Vihari. But at the same time both batsmen will need to come up with a strategy to overcome the steep bounce of debutant Kyle Jamieson.

Agarwal and Ajinkya Rahane (batting on 38) showed exactly how to bat on the Basin Reserve pitch. The duo resisted playing the cover drive, preferring to punch the ball down the ground.

For close to three hours, Agarwal imitated Rahane's method before a sudden rush of blood led to him to attempt a swivel a pull shot that resulted in a catch straight to fine leg. New Zealand played the patient game all day and will undoubtedly repeat their methods again on Day Two.

For India to post a competitive total, each batsman needs to take a leaf out of Rahane's book. They might not get bad balls for a substantial period of time, scoring will be difficult, but the key to prospering is patience.

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