Last wicket pair defies India as Kanpur Test ends in riveting draw

The first Test between India and New Zealand in Kanpur ended in a draw after bad light forced umpires to call early stumps on Day 5.

Debutant Rachin Ravindra and Ajaz Patel were the last New Zealand pair out in the middle facing 52 deliveries as the visitors managed 165-9 at stumps on the final day.

The bowlers usually have the upper hand on Day 5 but it wasn't the case.

India pushed really hard for the victory but the light didn't allow the 12-13 minutes of play left in the day.

Rachin Ravindra has done a brilliant job holding fort for his side on debut. So the day started so well for the visitors with Latham and Somerville playing out a wicketless morning session.

Both looked so assured in their defence and the slowness of the surface meant the Indian spinners weren't getting the bite that they usually would on a Day 5 pitch.

But batting wasn't easy as the rest of the New Zealand batters found out once Umesh opened the door first ball after lunch by bouncing Somerville out.

Only Williamson and Ravindra got to double figures from then on as Ashwin, Jadeja and Axar spun a web.

India did start the final session by getting quick wickets, but if you had a good defence, the pitch played well enough for you to negotiate the bowling.

Shreyas Iyer | Player of the Match: It's a great feeling, but would been the icing on the cake if we had won the game. You can see that the pitch is still intact. We bowled really well. Mindset was to play sessions and play as many balls as possible. People say I am 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.

Ajinkya Rahane | India Captain: Not really. I tried my best. Very good game of cricket, they played really well. We came back really well after the first session. We wanted to get that partnership going. We were looking to bowl 5-6 overs in the end, but we needed that partnership to carry on. I don't think we could have done anything different. The chat with the umps was about the light. As a fielding team, you want to bowl more overs, as a batting unit you don't want to bat in that situation. The chat was about the light, but umpires made the call and I thought they were right. I thought on this wicket the spinners had to bowl long spells. It was all about rotating the bowlers and they bowled really well. I am really happy for Shreyas. He had to wait a long time for his Test debut. He batted really well. The way he works, his record in FC cricket is really good. Virat is coming back for the next game. We'll have to wait and see till the Mumbai game. I am not going to make any comments but the management will make a call.

Kane Williamson | New Zealand Captain: 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. Some fantastic experiences for Rachin, Ajaz and Somerville. It was also nice to have a crowd here to see this game. The two fast bowlers that did play were outstanding. 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.

The New Zealand camp is very happy that they have held on to draw the game. This side does have great batting depth and even the No. 10, 11 showed great technique to play spin. They do have quality openers in Latham and Young, who both have shown brilliant application and they have experience in the middle-order too. How brilliant were Southee and Jamieson on this slow pitch. If they were so good here, imagine how badly they will want the clock to tick to December 3 and bowl on that very sportive Wankhede pitch. The pitch usually offers movement with the new ball and has great carry too. Batters once set can dig deep too. Just can't wait for the game to start. New Zealand may even be tempted to play Wagner over a spinner.

For India, all eyes on who makes way for Kohli. Rahane was tightlipped on that topic and said the management will decide. Ashwin, Jadeja, Axar had to toil really hard, but they will love bowling at the Wankhede as the spinners will get a lot more purchase with turn and bounce than Kanpur. Should be another cracking game of Test cricket for the avid fans.