Kohli, Sarfaraz lead counterattack against New Zealand but India still not out of woods in Bengaluru Test

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], October 18 : India made strong effort to save the situation in the second innings after their collapse in the first innings in the rain-affected Test match against New Zealand but with two days still left, the odds are heavily loaded against them.
India ended the third day of the first Test match on 231/3, in contrast to their capitulation in the first innings when they made just 46.
Virat Kohli and Sarfaraz Khan led the counter-attack after cautious start by openers Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal.
After Tea, Jaiswal was stumped by Tom Blundell off Ajaz Patel's bowling for 35. Rohit Sharma made his seventeenth Test fifty and was bowled by Patel for 52, leaving India at 95/2.
Patel, known for his remarkable 10-wicket haul in an innings against India in 2021, continued to trouble the Indian batters. His previous performance of 14/225 remains the best match figures by a visiting player in Asia, surpassing Ian Botham's long-standing record.
Virat Kohli, who was dismissed for a duck in the first innings, made a strong comeback with a counterattacking 70 before being dismissed by Glenn Phillips. Sarfaraz Khan, also out for a duck in the first innings, is unbeaten on 70 off 78 deliveries. His innings comprised seven boundaries and three sixes. This marked Sarfaraz's third fifty in his third Test match.
India are still trailing by 125 runs and will need to brace the pressure that New Zealand bowlers will exert on Saturday morning.
Ajaz Patel was the standout bowler for New Zealand, taking 2/70 in his 12 overs, while Glenn Phillips chipped in with the wicket of Kohli.
Virat Kohli joined an elite group of cricketers by scoring his 9,000th run in Test matches during a fluent 70 on day three.
Prior to this match, Kohli had last batted at No. 3 in 2016 and had a modest average of 19.40 in that position.
However, he showcased his class in the second innings, notching up his first Test half-century since December 2023. Alongside Sarfaraz Khan, Kohli forged a crucial partnership of 136 runs that revived India's innings.
Needing 53 runs to surpass the 9,000-run mark, Kohli reached his half-century off 70 balls, featuring five boundaries and a majestic six off Ajaz Patel. He then carefully accumulated the additional three runs needed to reach the milestone, taking a further nine balls.
According to Wisden, Kohli became the 18th player to score 9,000 runs in Test cricket and joined Joe Root and Steve Smith as the only active players in this exclusive club. He also became the fourth Indian to achieve this feat, following Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, and Sunil Gavaskar.
In terms of innings taken to reach 9,000 runs, Kohli's 197 innings make him the sixth-slowest to achieve the milestone. The record for the slowest is jointly held by Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Steve Waugh, who both took 216 innings. Kumar Sangakkara holds the record for the fastest to 9,000 runs, achieving it in just 172 innings, followed by Smith and Dravid. Kohli is the slowest among the Indian players in this group, with Dravid taking 174 innings, Tendulkar 179, and Gavaskar 192.
Looking ahead, Kohli's next target on the all-time run-scoring list is Graeme Smith, who is currently over 200 runs ahead as per Wisden. Within the Indian context, Kohli needs another 1,100 runs to surpass Gavaskar for third place on India's all-time run-scorers list. With two more Tests against New Zealand and a five-Test series in Australia in December, Kohli is well-positioned to climb higher in the rankings by the end of the year.
Brief Scores: India 46 & 231/3 (Virat Kohli 70, Sarfaraz Khan 70*; Ajaz Patel 2/70) vs New Zealand: 402 (Rachin Ravindra 134, Tim Southee 65, Devon Conway 91; Ravindra Jadeja 3/72).