Ronchi rattles century against Mumbai at Kotla
First and foremost is Martin Guptill's continuing slump, the opener adding a second innings duck to his 15 from the first day.
New Delhi: New Zealand captain Kane Williamson and coach Mike Hesson head for the first Test in Kanpur not having found too many answers from their only warm-up game, which ended in a predictable draw against Mumbai at the Kotla her on Sunday.
First and foremost is Martin Guptill’s continuing slump, the opener adding a second innings duck to his 15 from the first day. Stand-in opener Luke Ronchi though made a case for selection at Kanpur with a quickfire hundred as New Zealand XI finished their second essay at the crease on 235 in 66.4 overs.
Opening in place of Tom Latham, who got a half-century in the first dig, Ronchi blazed his way to 107 from 115 deliveries that included 15 boundaries and three sixes. Better known for his limited-overs abilities, the left-hander was the only Kiwi to cross 50 on the day, frontline batsmen Williamson and Ross Taylor not batting this time round.
Mumbai resumed at 431/5 and faced a further 11 overs, declaring at 464/8 for a 140-run first innings lead. Overnight batsman Siddhesh Lad duly went on to get his hundred, the third Mumbai batsman to cross three figures, before the recall came from the pavilion.
Lad ended on an exact 100 (99b, 8x4, 7x6). New Zealand XI thereafter concentrated on giving their batsmen time in the middle but there was no change in fortunes for the hapless Guptill, who lasted only two balls in his second knock before falling to left-arm spinner Vishal Dabholkar after Aditya Tare opted for a pace-spin combo up front.
Ronchi, who did not bat on the opening day, turned on the style, using the long handle to good effect even as wickets fell around him with the lower order being given a chance to get some batting time.
Ronchi blasted 12 fours in racing to his 50 in 57 balls and then kept the pace going in reaching his century in an almost even spilt, three fours and as many sixes aiding his effort.
With the Kiwis just 22 ahead of Mumbai when Ronchi fell at 162/6, it was left to wicketkeeper B.J. Watling (43) and Latham (25) to push things along as the game meandered towards the inevitable draw.
Brief scores: New Zealand XI 324/7 decl in 75 overs and 235 in 66.4 overs (Ronchi 107, Watling 43; Valsangkar 3/41) drew with Mumbai 464/8 decl in 114 overs.