Cricket-India strike after lunch, New Zealand 125-4 in Kanpur

NEW DELHI (Reuters) -India claimed three wickets in the afternoon session to reduce New Zealand to 125-4 on the final day of the opening test at Kanpur’s Green Park Stadium on Monday.

Ravindra Jadeja trapped veteran Ross Taylor lbw for two on the stroke of tea, and India will return hoping to claim the last six wickets in the final session and go 1-0 up in the two-test series.

The main responsibility for saving the match for New Zealand is on captain Kane Williamson who was 24 not out at the break with his team still 159 away from their victory target.

After a wicketless morning session, Umesh Yadav struck with the first ball after lunch to break the 76-run stand between overnight batsmen Will Somerville and Tom Latham.

Yadav banged one in short and Somerville attempted a hook shot which sent the ball towards long leg. Shubman Gill sprinted from deep and dived forward to take a stunning catch.

Somerville had walked out as nightwatchman after Will Young’s late dismissal on Sunday but played like a specialist batsman for his 36 off 110 balls.

Latham, who made 52, took three runs off Ravichandran Ashwin to bring up his fifty but his industrious knock was cut short when he dragged a wide delivery from the off-spinner onto his stumps.

Jadeja dismissed Taylor cheaply but the India spinners had to toil for success on a surface where the ball kept low and did not turn as much as expected from a final day pitch in the sub-continent.

The second and final test starts in Mumbai on Friday.

(Reporting by Amlan Chakraborty in New Delhi; editing by Peter Rutherford and Ed Osmond)