Rachin Ravindra rose to the occasion in a thrilling Test match on M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, scoring 134 runs to put New Zealand in a dominating position in the first innings of the match with a total of 402 against India. This performance makes Ravindra the first Kiwi to make a century on Indian soil since Ross Taylor in 2013, thus putting an end to New Zealand’s jinx in this format on Indian soil.
The match has again turned out to be surrounded by controversy in terms of a call made by the Decision Review System (DRS) in the second session. When on-field umpire Michael Gough agreed to an appeal for Ravindra’s wicket, Rachin appealed for the DRS. Then the third umpire, Richard Illingworth, stuck with the decision even though there was a faint tick on UltraEdge after the ball had moved past the bat.
This incident created much controversy among the commentators, especially Harsha Bhogle and Ian Smith. Bhogle cited information from the former ICC Elite Umpire, Simon Taufel, who pointed out that such spikes could still be considered acceptable for review. Smith then pointed out that Kohli was surprisingly silent after the review and was not celebrating the wicket, despite having an aggressive personality on the field.
In the commentary drama, Ian Botham spoke about the DRS system, and that made Bhogle urge that such critical decisions should be made clear. This led to Botham questioning the accuracy of the DRS, which in turn caused fans and analysts to continue the debate on whether it was helpful or not.
Ravindra’s innings not only demonstrated how talented a cricketer he is, but also ensured that New Zealand was in control of this Test, especially after India was bundled out for 46 in its first innings. With a lead exceeding 300 runs, New Zealand is well-placed in the match, leading toward a win, but it will be interesting to see how Indian batters will face Kiwi bowlers after a devastating performance in the first innings.
