IND vs NZ, 3rd Test: Jadeja returns to form but India lose control on Day 1

Ravindra Jadeja returned to form as India lost control on Day 1 of the Mumbai Test on Friday, October 1. Jadeja picked up 5 wickets as India bundled out New Zealand for 235 on a hot Mumbai day at the Wankhede stadium.

In Short

• Jadeja finished with figures of 5 for 65
• India ended the day at 86 for 4
• Rohit Sharma's poor form continued as he scored just 18

Ravindra Jadeja was the star with the ball but India lost control on Day 1 in the Mumbai Test on Friday, October 1. Jadeja ended with figures of 5 for 65 as New Zealand were bundled out for 235 runs, despite Daryl Mitchell's 82 and Will Young's 71. On a hot and humid day at the Wankhede stadium, Jadeja turned the game in the third one after the first 2 were evenly shared by both teams at the Wankhede stadium.

India seemed to be in control before the wickets of Yashasvi Jaiswal, Mohammed Siraj and Virat Kohli gave New Zealand some momentum heading into Day 2. New Zealand would win the toss and had no hesitation to bat first at the Wankhede stadium. They were without the services of Mitchell Santner, who was ruled out of the game due to a side strain. Tim Southee was also out of the side as the visitors brought in Matt Henry and Ish Sodhi.

The start from the openers was a cautious one, before Akash Deep provided India with an early breakthrough. The pacer was able to trap Devon Conway in front of the stumps and a review was wasted by New Zealand. Young would join his captain Tom Latham at the crease and the duo would quickly steady the innings. Young and Latham would add 44 runs before Washington Sundar entered the fray to spin some magic to give India the edge.

India vs New Zealand, Mumbai Test: Scorecard | Highlights

Sundar first cleaned up Latham with an absolute beauty, and then he would continue to haunt Rachin Ravindra in this series. The off-spinner would dismiss Rachin for the third time in as many innings with a ball that was similar to the dismissal of Latham.

Mitchell and Young would then ensure there was no further damage to the visitors and got them to 92 runs in 27 overs for the loss of 3 wickets at Lunch.

Following the break, Young would continue to show his good form and scored 71 and started to frustrate the Indian bowlers and Rohit Sharma. The players would start getting troubled by the Mumbai heat with Mitchell facing the brunt of it.

Long and extended drinks breaks started to become a norm with umbrellas also coming out at the Wankhede stadium. More than the heat, Young and Mitchell's partnership of 87 was slowly giving the visitors the momentum before Jadeja would enter the fray to change the game.

He would dismiss Young first as Rohit took a good catch at slips and the all-rounder would claim the wicket of Tom Blundell with a fine delivery to take 2 in the over. Glenn Phillips offered some support to Mitchell, who was clearly struggling to deal with the heat but slowly got to his fifty.

But then, Jadeja would give India the edge heading into tea as he cleaned up Glenn Phillips as New Zealand would get to 192 for 6. The break came at a vital time for Mitchell, who clearly shifted gears and started to attack the Indian bowlers.

However, support slowly started to fade at the other end as Jadeja picked up Ish Sodhi first and followed it up with Matt Henry in the same over. This meant Mitchell went into overdrive as he hit a couple of sixes off Sundar as he was slowly approaching the 100-run mark.

But a sensational catch from Rohit ended Mitchell's innings at 82 as India closed in for the kill. A six from Ajaz Patel would bring in some excitement, but he was trapped infront of the stumps as New Zealand were bundled out for 235.

The Indian innings was off to a sedate start, atleast from Yashasvi Jaiswal's end. But Rohit would entertain the crowd with 2 glorious shots as the hosts were up and running. Jaiswal took 16 balls to finally get off the mark in the same over where Rohit would hit his 3rd boundary.

Jaiswal was able to break the shackles against Ajaz Patel with a boundary but Rohit would have a lucky break against the same bowler as an edge would just go past slips. But his luck would run out as Rohit was completely undone by Matt Henry and he would hole out to slips as Wankhede went into silence.

Ajaz slowly started to trouble Gill as the Indian batter was able to survive by the skin of his teeth. But Jaiswal slowly started to gain confidence as he was able to score 10 off Glenn Phillips' over. Gill would also gain some confidence with a couple of boundaries off Ajaz as India would get past the 50-run mark.

Gill would flex his muscles with a six off Phillips as the duo would get their partnership above 50. But a poor shot from Jaiswal meant India lost their 2nd wicket in the final few overs of the day. India's night watchman option would also fail as Mohammed Siraj was dismissed for a duck.

Kohli ensured there was no hat-trick but got himself run-out as the Blackcaps made their way back into the game.

Evergreen Jadeja returns to form

After the Pune Test, a lot of criticism was raised against India's 2 veteran spinners R Ashwin and Jadeja. Both men struggled to make an impact in the first 2 matches, which was one of the reasons why India went on to lose in Bengaluru and Pune.

Rohit would jump to the defence of both men, saying that they were allowed to have a few bad games given how they have been match-winners in their respective careers. On Friday, India desperately needed one of the duo to step up, and it was Jadeja who put his hand up.

Young looked set for a good score on a Wankhede pitch that was seemingly not doing a lot at that time. Jadeja came in and flipped the script of the day. He first claimed Young and would then give India breakthroughs at the right moments.

Jadeja would then claim his 14th 5-wicket haul and ended with figures of 65 for 5 in his 22 overs. The spinner would also become the 5th highest wicket-taker for India as he went past both Ishant Sharma and Zaheer Khan on the day.

India will now be hoping that Ashwin can follow in the same vein as his spin partner and get into form during the second innings.

Mumbai Raja Rohit's struggles continue

The Mumbai fans were expecting a masterclass from their hometown favourite, Rohit, on Friday. He had played one Test at the Wankhede before and he had scored 111 runs and remained not out as well. The expectations were heightened when Rohit hit 3 boundaries to start the Indian innings.

But the manner in which he was dismissed has raised questions again about his form. Once again a ball outside off would force the Indian captain to play a nothing shot and the ball would go to slips. This has been a method that New Zealand has used against Rohit in the series with Tim Southee getting the better of him in the first innings in Bengaluru and Pune.

The Australia pacers will surely be watching and keeping notes of Rohit's struggles ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, where India will heavily depend on their captain. Errors will need quick rectifiication and Rohit is slowly running out of time.