Live Score

Match Drawn

Arya: There were ebbs and flows all through the day's play and at the end, it was an escape by the barest of margins for the visiting team. It was exceptional rearguard action shown by nightwatchman Somerville who batted with grit and determination and along with Tom Latham, the duo ensured that India couldn't manage to get a wicket in the first session of the day's play. Both played some exceptional defensive shots to defy the Indian bowlers. It was all about their application in the first session and it looked, New Zealand could actually push for a victory with nine wickets in hand coming into the second session. 

India bagged the wicket of nightwatchman Somerville immediately after lunch but that was the only wicket in the first half of the second session. Kane Williamson and Latham both showed resilience and application but didn't quite rotate the strike which ensured that India was never under any pressure of losing this Test match. It was Ravichandran Ashwin who started the collapse for New Zealand as he bagged the wicket of Tom Latham with not one of his greatest deliveries. 

Jadeja accounted for Ross Taylor in the final delivery before tea which gave India the much-needed momentum going into the final session. New Zealand lost the wickets of Henry Nicholls and Kane Williamson early after tea and it seemed to be the final nail in the coffin for the Kiwis. Tom Blundell was dismissed in an unusual manner and when Tim Southee was dismissed with still more than half and hour left, it seemed India will finish it off pretty soon. 

However all said and done, the pair of Rachin Ravindra and last man Ajaz Patel had other ideas. Both having Indian routes defied the Indian bowlers till the end of the day's play. It was great defensive technique shown by the southpaws and eventually saw the day off. 

Time for post-match presentation.

Tom Latham earns the Dream11 Game Changer of the Match.

Shubman Gill gets the Hyundai Best Save of the Match for the diving catch of William Somerville.

Kane Williamson:"It has been touch and go around this time throughout the game. Terrific game overall. All three results were still at play. We showed a lot of heart to bat through the day. Rachin is a top-order batter, but he's not experienced in these conditions. Some fantastic experiences for Rachin, Ajaz and Somerville. The faster bowlers that played out bowled with their hearts out. Bowling long overs was an unbelievable effort. We know this Indian side is a very strong one. Experience overall in this game was good to have. There are things to touch on. Getting the overs under the belt was good to have. We have to prepare for a different kind of pitch in Mumbai."

Ajinkya Rahane: "I tried my best. It was a very good game of cricket. They played really well throughout the game. Our bowlers made a brilliant comeback after the second session. All the bowlers are quality bowlers and they bowled really well. [Regarding declaration]We lost few wickets quickly so we wanted to put some runs on the board and then see what happens. We needed that partnership and Shreyas-Ashwin's partnership along with Axar-Saha's partnership for crucial for us. We were hoping to bowl around 95 overs and allow the time for our bowlers to get them out. [What was the chat with the umpires in the dying hours?]The chat was regarding the lights. We wanted to bowl more but it happens in cricket. The umpires took a call and they were right. [On underbowling or overbowling someone as a skipper] Sometimes it feels that am I bowling Ashwin less or Axar more but on this pitch a spinner had to bowl a longer spell so Ashwin did it and Jadeja did it in the second session.

First of all, I am very happy for Shreyas. He waited very long for his Test debut. His record in First class cricket, ODI and T20 is very good. Virat is coming back for the next game so we will wait and see what happens in Mumbai. I don't want to make any comments."

Shreyas Iyer gets the Man of the Match.

Shreyas Iyer: "It is great obviously but we would have won it, it would have been icing on the cake.  The pitch was intact but our bowlers showed great fight. Our bowlers came out and bowled their hearts out and they will keep on continuing that. Mindset was to play sessions and play as many balls as possible. Everyone calls me a flamboyant player, don't curb my instincts, but I was just looking to play as many balls. Enjoyed batting with Ashwin and Saha. Happy with the overall performance of the team. The pressure is always there. They got off to a great start. Once we got a sniff and got quick wickets, we made best use of the situation.''

That's all we have from the commentary box. Who says Test match cricket is boring? Only those who understands and loves the game from the heart will never miss these games. Truly a humdinger of a contest as the Kiwis pulled off a great escape from the jaws of defeat. Till the next time, it's adios from me (Arya Sekhar Chakraborty) and my fellow commentators Arjun Bhalla and Ninaad Dixit.