Five days of
riveting action boiled down to the final 15-odd minutes of the first Test
between India and New Zealand at the Green Park Stadium in Kanpur on Monday. With
lights fading, the Indians turned the screws in search of the final wicket to take
a 1-0 lead in the two-match series, while the Kiwi batters looked to just hold
on until the umpires called it a day.

In the end,
22-year-old debutant Rachin Ravindra and Ajaz Patel resisted the Indian
pressure to steal a famous draw for the Kiwis and kick off the 2021-23 cycle of
the World Test Championship. Ravindra faced 91 balls, scoring 18 runs, while
Mumbai-born Patel faced 23 deliveries as the two saw out 8.4 overs to avoid defeat,
which at one point seemed inevitable.

The action
impressed Australia all-rounder Glenn Maxwell, who tweeted, “Anyone else watching
#INDvsNZ? How good’s test cricket?”

The tweet
got the attention of spin legend Shane Warne, who called Test cricket “the best”
and also expressed his excitement for the upcoming Ashes series. “The best!!!!
Love test cricket. The #ashes is only 9 sleeps@away on. Hurry up already,”
Warne said in reply to Maxwell’s tweet.

Also Read | Ajinkya Rahane says drawn India vs New Zealand Kanpur Test was very good game of cricket

Chasing a 284-run target, the final
day of the Kanpur Test began with New Zealand’s score at 4/1, with opener Tom
Latham and nightwatchman Will Somerville at the crease. The two were sturdy in
their approach and played out the first session without losing any wickets.

However, Umesh
Yadav got the first breakthrough of the day, dismissing Somerville (36) to open
the floodgates. Latham (52) played on a Ravichandran Ashwin delivery onto his
stumps as the off-spinner surpassed Harbhajan Singh to become India’s third-highest
wicket-taker in the format.

Ravindra
Jadeja was the pick of the bowlers in the second innings, finishing with figures
of 4 for 40 from 28 overs, that included 10 maidens.

The second Test
will be played in Mumbai from December 3-7.