Daryl Mitchell
Daryl Mitchell (Image Credit: Twitter)

Team India looks in a commanding position to win the second Test against New Zealand at the Wankhede in Mumbai.

At the end of the gameplay of Day 3, New Zealand were left with 140 runs for the loss of five wickets. The visitors need 400 runs more to chase to win the game, something that is beyond their control.

Ravi Ashwin rattles New Zealand batters

Veteran Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin was once again on the song as he picked three wickets including the likes of Tom Latham and Ross Taylor as the visitors were struggling for a perfect partnership.

Ravichandran Ashwin
Ravichandran Ashwin (Image Credit: Twitter)

However, Daryl Mitchell, who has replaced skipper Kane Williamson in the team, made a fighting 60 from 92 balls before he was caught by Jayant Yadav off Axar Patel’s bowling in the 35th over.

Personally wanted to take up Indian spinners: Daryl Mitchell

Mitchell admitted that he wanted to take up the responsibility for his side just how Mayank Agarwal (150 & 62) batted for India.

“The way Agarwal played in both innings for India, he put pressure on our spinners and he set the template for how I personally wanted to try and go about, taking on the Indian spinners today. Disappointing to not still be out there and kick on but it was nice to get a partnership going.

Read More  Watch: King returns! Virat Kohli begins training at Chinnaswamy stadium ahead of IPL 2024

It’s a pretty challenging surface, the ball’s definitely turning there with your name on it. It’s just about trying to find ways and put pressure back on the bowlers at certain times and stick within your strengths. Ultimately that was my downfall today, but it was nice to spend some time out in the middle,” Daryl Mitchell told the official broadcasters at the end of the play of Day 3.

Daryl Mitchell
Daryl Mitchell. Credits: Twiitter

Mitchell said it will be a challenging task for his team to bat for two more days and get any result in their favour.

“That’s the wonderful game of Test cricket, they are constantly throwing things at you and you’re doing the same thing back. You just gotta keep doing that for long periods of time and keep trying to win every small battle,” Mitchell said.

“It’s obviously a tough situation we’re in, we’ve got another two days to bat now. It was just about going out and playing our game, keep trying to put pressure back on their bowlers for as long as we can and hopefully that will put us in a position come day five where there might be a chance. Obviously, it’s very challenging,” he added.

Mitchell’s efforts did keep New Zealand in the game for one more day with an arduous task of chasing 400 runs more with just five wickets in hand.

Read More  Bangladesh squad for first Test vs Sri Lanka announced

Also Read: IND vs NZ 2021: Here’s Why Mayank Agarwal And Shubman Gill Won’t Take The Field On Day 3