India batting legend Sunil Gavaskar criticized New Zealand for their ‘timid’ batting on the fifth day of the 1st Test in Kanpur after being set a target of 284 runs. He said that the Kiwis didn’t even look like going for the victory by the way they batted the entire day.
New Zealand started their fifth day on 4/1, and though they lost wickets at regular intervals, the likes of Tom Latham, Kane Williamson, Will Somerville, and Rachin Ravindra wasted enough balls and time to take Black Caps to safety with only one wicket in hand.
Even the last wicket pair of Ravindra and Ajaz Patel played more than 50 balls to deny India a victory as the umpires called the day off due to poor light despite enough time still remaining in the day’s play.
Gavaskar was not pleased with New Zealand's batting and believed the visitors failed to capitalize on the start provided by Tom Latham and William Somerville and “were only keen on survival and not looking for a victory.”
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Gavaskar made the remarks in his column on the Times of India and wrote: “New Zealand managed to hold on by the skin of their teeth at Kanpur. Their timid batting after a terrific first session on the final day brought India back into the game, and once they started to get wickets in the second session, they simply piled on more pressure as they realized that the visitors were only keen on survival and not looking for a victory.”
“At lunchtime, Rahane and Dravid would have been a touch worried, for Latham and Somerville had set up a perfect platform for the following batsmen to play their normal game and take New Zealand home. Then, inexplicably, the shutters were pulled down, and all that it did was allow Rahane to keep men in catching positions,” added Gavaskar.
Furthermore, Gavaskar also said that this draw will have a significant effect in deciding the finalists of the ongoing second cycle of the World Test Championship (WTC 2021-23).
“There is a place in the finals of the World Test Championships at stake for both these finalists, and so sharing the points will certainly make a difference as the series goes on,” concluded Gavaskar.
