New Zealand captain Kane Williamson has praised the “old school Test cricket” on display as the Kiwis held on for a thrilling draw against India in Kanpur.
Needing 284 for victory on the final day, New Zealand finished on 9/165, with the last pair of Rachin Ravindra and Ajaz Patel surviving for 52 balls before bad light brought an early end to the match.
Ravindra, the 22-year-old on Test debut, faced 91 balls for his 18, keeping the Indian spinners, led by Ravi Jadeja (4-40) and Ravichandran Ashwin (3-35), at bay.
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“It was old school test cricket, trying to bat out a day and survive which isn’t seen all that often in recent years,” Williamson said.
“It was good fun and nice to come away with the draw in the end.
“That’s the beauty of test cricket where there can be excitement in the draw.”
Williamson himself faced 112 balls for 24, while nightwatchman Will Somerville occupied the crease for 110 balls for 36, and opener Tom Latham faced 146 balls in compiling 52.
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Australian stars Glenn Maxwell and David Warner were among those to tweet their appreciation of such a tense draw.
“How good is Test cricket,” Warner wrote.
“Five days, tough cricket played by both teams and it ends in a draw. That’s why we love it.”
It’s New Zealand’s 10th consecutive Test match without defeat, an all-time record for that country.
The Kiwis haven’t lost since being defeated by Australia in Sydney in January 2020, since then winning eight and drawing two matches.
“Coming into the day we were aware that all three results were possible,” Williamson said.
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“Having said that there was a lot of hard work to do to give yourself a chance to chase versus trying to chase too early and finding yourselves in a sticky position. It was a matter of trying to take the day deep. And if we were close we would have had a crack if we were in the right position. But we weren’t in the end.
“India were able to put us under pressure throughout the sessions. Scoring was tough to come by, and there was a lot of navigating low bounce and balls that spun and those sort of things.
“If things unfold ideally, then it would have been great to try and get close to the desired result. Having said that, I think going through that second session, it was quickly off the cards. Then we saw a lot of contributions from the guys where they really knuckled down and fought hard to get a draw in the end. That was the next best thing for us.”
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