India made a stunning comeback in the opening Test match against New Zealand on Day 3 with an impressive all-round performance in Bengaluru on Friday. New Zealand took a defining 356-run lead in the first innings but India revived their hopes by posting a total of 231 for 3 in just 49 overs at the end of Day 3 at M Chinnaswamy Stadium.
New Zealand stunned the Indian team with Glenn Phillips removing Virat Kohli, who was batting on 70 off 101 balls, on the last ball of the Day 3. With just seven wickets in hand and two more days to go, the Indian team require some big knocks on Day 4 to stay alive in the game.
Meanwhile, Rising from their 46-run first innings total, Rohit Sharma's men made a strong comeback in the second innings but are still trailing by 125 runs with two days to go in the opening match. The Kiwis remain ahead in the game but India's strong reply defiantly raised India's hope for an unbelievable but hard-fought win.
New Zealand started the Day 3 from 180/3 but Indian bowlers were impressive in the opening session with regular wickets. Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav took three wickets each to bowl out the Kiwis to 402 in 91.3 overs.
Rachin Ravindra top-scored with 134 runs off just 157 balls and the former captain Tim Southee smashed quick 65 runs to give the Black Caps a 356-run lead. A total of 451 runs were scored on Day 3, the second-highest in a day in a Test match in India.
India sweat on Rishabh Pant's availability as the wicketkeeper batter didn't come out to the field on Day 3 after hurting his knee on Thursday. With KL Rahul and Sarfaraz Khan being the only two specialist batting options, India will look for runs from the spin all-rounders Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin on Saturday.
