Team India’s newly-appointed head coach Rahul Dravid has made headlines for his noble work. He has given Rs 35,000 to Shiv Kumar for preparing a sporting pitch at the Green Park where the first Test against New Zealand took place.
However, both Ajaz Patel and Rachin Ravindra showed their skill and stayed there to defy India’s famous spinners and took the team to register a thrilling draw on the fifth and final day of the opening Test on Monday as well.
“We would like to make an official announcement. Mr Rahul Dravid has paid Rs 35,000 personally to our groundsmen,” the Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association (UPCA) has announced in the press box after the game.
However, the pitch has helped both teams where Shreyas Iyer smashed a hundred and a fifty. Even, Shubman Gill, Ravindra Jadeja, Tom Latham, and Will Young scored fifties as well. On the other hand, pacers Tim Southee and Kyle Jamieson successfully claimed wickets alongside India spinner Axar Patel, who claimed a fifer too.
“I don’t think we could have done anything different” – Ajinkya Rahane
Speaking at the end of the game, Ajinkya Rahane stated that he had done everything at his disposal to secure a win. However, the Black Caps resisted well to snatch a point. Speaking at the end of the game, Rahane said:
“Not really. I tried my best. Very good game of cricket, they played really well. We came back really well after the first session. We wanted to get that partnership going. We were looking to bowl 5-6 overs in the end, but we needed that partnership to carry on. I don’t think we could have done anything different. The chat with the umps was about the light. As a fielding team, you want to bowl more overs, as a batting unit you don’t want to bat in that situation.”
He added:
“The chat was about the light, but umpires made the call and I thought they were right. I thought on this wicket the spinners had to bowl long spells. It was all about rotating the bowlers and they bowled really well. I am really happy for Shreyas. He had to wait a long time for his Test debut. He batted really well. The way he works, his record in FC cricket is really good. Virat is coming back for the next game. We’ll have to wait and see till the Mumbai game. I am not going to make any comments but the management will make a call.”
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