Watch: Ravindra Jadeja bolds Tom Blundell through the gate

Team India left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja provided an early breakthrough for the home team on the third day of the second Test match against New Zealand. Ravindra Jadeja bamboozled New Zealand wicketkeeper Tom Blundell and bowled him through the bat and pad gap in the second innings.

The Tom Latham-led team ended the second day with the upper hand at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune. They scored 198 runs for the loss of five wickets at the end of the second day's play. Washington Sundar picked up four wickets while Ravichandran Ashwin secured one wicket.

Watch: Ravindra Jadeja Bowls Tom Blundell Through The Gate

Ravindra Jadeja drew first blood for Team India on the third day by dismissing Tom Blundell on Saturday, October 26. Blundell scored 41 runs off 83 balls, with the help of three boundaries, in the second innings. The visiting team lost their sixth wicket at the score of 231 runs, with a lead of over 330 runs.

Blundell tried to defend a delivery that drifted inward. However, the right-handed batter misjudged the turn, and the ball went through the gap between his bat and pad. The ball hit the top of the middle stump. Jadeja celebrated his first wicket of the ongoing second Test match with a sense of relief.

A Jadeja jaffa castles Blundell! 🔥#INDvNZ #IDFCFirstBankTestTrophy #TeamIndia #JioCinemaSports pic.twitter.com/d4CQejhsy1

— JioCinema (@JioCinema) October 26, 2024

Ravindra Jadeja Has Taken Three Wickets On Day 3

Ravindra Jadeja has been on fire with the ball on the third day. The spinner dismissed Mitchell Santner as his second wicket of the day. Ravichandran Ashwin got rid of Tim Southee, and Rohit took a good catch. Jadeja went on to pick the wicket of Ajaz Patel as his third as New Zealand lost nine wickets for 241.

Our Batters Did A Fantastic Job - Mitchell Santner

Mitchell Santner expressed his satisfaction with New Zealand's performance in the match. Santner acknowledged the challenges of batting on the pitch and praised his teammates for their efforts. He said that the pitch is different from what they experience in New Zealand.

"Yeah, I think obviously, it’s a great feeling. But to put ourselves in a position to potentially win this Test match was great. It wasn’t easy to bat and our batters did a fantastic job. We spoke at the start of the day to find the right speed to bowl on this wicket," Santner said, as quoted by Crex.

"The slow ones started to spin more. We talked about it. Just tried to put those in the right areas. Just trying to play with the angles. Once you go wider of the crease, it cuts the angle. Watching Washy go wider of the crease and going straight, it was pretty cool to watch. I guess the pitches here in India offer spin. We don’t get that back home. There is some assistance to the spinners and it’s nice to see that. It’s obviously doing a little bit," he added.

Also read: Anil Kumble exposes Virat Kohli with 'domestic cricket' reminder following struggles against spin