IND vs NZ: Ajinkya Rahane said ‘we tried our best to win’ after the match against New Zealand was drawn

Rachin Ravindra and Aijaz Patel, playing their first Test for New Zealand, displayed tremendous courage and restraint by saving the last wicket to deny India a sure victory as the first Test ended in a draw on the fifth and final day. Chasing a target of 284 runs for victory, the New Zealand team scored 165 runs for nine wickets. India had scored 345 runs in the first innings while the second innings were declared for 234 for seven. New Zealand’s team was out for 296 runs in the first innings. In the first session on the fifth and last day, where the Kiwi batsmen dominated, in the second session, India came back with three wickets. Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja had almost assured India’s victory by taking three and four wickets respectively but Ravindra and Aijaz, like Angad, dashed the hosts’ plans. New Zealand’s ninth wicket fell for 155 in the 90th over and even then eight overs were left to be played. Indian captain Ajinkya Rahane also put in a very aggressive field but Ravindra (18) played 91 balls and Aijaz (2) played 23 balls to push the match towards a draw.

After the match was drawn, Team India captain Ajinkya Rahane said, “We tried our best to win the match, but they played better cricket. The way we came back in the second session today and took wickets, it was excellent. Both Umesh and Ishant We bowled really well and our spinners are world class. Before Axar and Saha were batting well yesterday, Shreyas and Ashwin’s partnership was also important. We wanted to bowl four overs yesterday, which we did. For Shreyas I am very happy. He has been doing well in domestic cricket for a long time. Whatever changes will happen after Virat Kohli’s arrival in Mumbai Test, that will be decided by the team management.”

New Zealand captain Kane Williamson said after the match, “It was a great match. All three results looked possible till the end. We batted all day and showed persistence. It was a great experience for Rachin, Aijaz and Somerville. The stadium here It was also nice to see the fans coming in. Both our fast bowlers bowled really well. This is a strong Indian team, so we had to do well in every department.”

Shreyas Iyer made his debut in the Kanpur Test with 105 and 65 runs. He was awarded the Man of the Match award for his stellar performance.

Shreyas Iyer said after receiving the award, “It is great to win this award in the very first match, but if we had won the match, it would have been better. The pitch was not that helpful for the bowlers, yet our bowlers played well. I season season after season and wanted to play as many balls as possible. I played as per the demand of the times, played cricket as needed. There were times when we were seen going out of the match, but we came back. We are proud of that We are happy with the overall performance of the team.”