Rohit, Kohli build imposing lead for India

India 316 and 227 for 8 (Rohit 82, Kohli 45, Henry 3-44, Santner 3-51) lead New Zealand 204 (Patel 47, Bhuvneshwar 5-48) by 339 runsLive scorecard and ball-by-ball details

India had two huge things in their favour on Sunday – a first-innings lead and a first-rate innings from Virat Kohli. While his team-mates copped good ones or were roughed up by the variable bounce in the pitch, the Indian captain found a way to be at ease in the face of a fired-up New Zealand pace attack. It took a truly naughty delivery, one that was pitched short but stayed extremely low, to dismiss him five short of a fifty. By then, he had taken the sting out of the new ball and paved the way for Rohit Sharma to ratchet the lead up to 339. Never had a team made as many in the fourth innings at Eden Gardens and the highest target chased down at the venue was a mere 117.

The key to batting in tough conditions seems absurdly simple when you put it in words – moving your feet quickly and meeting the ball late. Kohli showed signs of that very early in his innings. His comfort at the crease rattled New Zealand and it wasn’t like they didn’t have good plans against him. They tried bouncing him out with short leg, leg gully and deep square leg in place. But Kohli shuffled across, swiveled on his back foot, rolled his wrists over the ball, and made sure it went to ground. Then came the full and wide deliveries. Kohli either avoided them or got his front foot right forward, meaning he could play the cover drive with his hands a lot closer to his body.

With time at the crease, Kohli displayed aspects of his game that have made him irresistible in one-day cricket. Awareness of the field: in the 17th over, with Neil Wagner bowling from around the wicket with a packed leg-side field, Kohli carved a bouncer to the vacant third man boundary. Manipulating the …

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