Former India captain and batting legend Sachin Tendulkar showered praise on both India and New Zealand after the two teams played out a pulsating draw at Kanpur in the 1st of the two-Test series. The hosts were in a commanding position by the end of the fourth day but the script changed dramatically in the first session on day 5 as overnight batters Tom Latham and Williamson Sommerville kept the Indian spinners at bay. India came right back in the match in the next two sessions by picking up 8 of the nine wickets needed on the final day to force a win.
Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja were meticulous in the way they planned the dismissals of the New Zealand batters, who were giving a tough fight in the middle. With little under nine overs to go and the last pair of debutant Rachin Ravindra and Ajaz Patel in the middle, the fans at the Green Park Stadium in Kanpur were expecting an Indian win. But the duo played out 52 deliveries in deteriorating light to eventually save the match for their team.
Tendulkar was all praise for the two teams and singled out Ravindra and Patel's effort on day 5 in his tweet.
"Both #TeamIndia and #NewZealand had their backs against the wall at various stages of this game and both teams fought hard to come back into the game. To survive 52 balls on the last day of the Test was commendable. This is what makes Test match cricket fascinating," Tendulkar tweeted.
India were saved from precarious situations in both innings by debutant Shreyas Iyer, who slammed 105 and 65 in the two innings. The lower order added useful runs to take the hosts to a commanding position. New Zealand too had Latham to thank for his twin fifties and Tim Southee for a fifer in the first innings.
The second Test match begins on December 3, with India captain Virat Kohli coming back after being rested for the T20Is and the first Test.