Ind vs NZ – 3rd Test – Eight Balls at Wankhede – India’s Post-Halloween Horror Story

India might reasonably believe that their problems during this series against New Zealand were the result of a confluence of circumstances. The rain in Bengaluru. The litter in Pune. But the chaos in Mumbai is less easy to wish away.

They were on top, taking seven wickets for 76 runs to restrict the opposition to 235, and responded with 78 for 1 in 17 overs on a pitch where first innings runs will be incredibly important. Until Friday, 4:47 p.m., everything was going according to plan. And then, in the next five minutes, everything came crashing down. Three wickets in eight legal balls and a day to win were at stake again.

The Indian players in the dressing room could only watch in horror. A set batsman falls into a reverse swing as stumps approach. A night watchman dismissed the first ball and consumed a review. A world champion run out with a quick single. Morne Morkel had his head in his hands. Ravindra Jadeja didn't even have time to react that much.

“Everything happened in ten minutes,” Jadeja said at the end of the first day of play in Mumbai. “But it happens. It's a team game. You can't blame one person. Everyone makes mistakes. The next batters must partner and try to get (the score) above 230. Only then do the second innings come into play.” So it would be better if the incoming batters did their part.

New Zealand has done what few others have done and is holding out until the balance can shift. They showed it in their first innings in Bengaluru when Tim Southee and Rachin Ravindra added crucial runs in the lower order. They proved it in Pune when they beat India by 50 for 1 for 156. And they showed it again here, breaking a 53-run stand between Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal with 13 minutes to go and then topping it with Virat Kohli's direct hit.

“You want to keep taking wickets,” said Daryl Mitchell, who was New Zealand's top player with 82 points. “It's always nice. Look, it's the nature of the surface and playing Test cricket here, the ups and downs happen throughout the day and we're happy with how we persevered while they built a partnership and when you get one , then hopefully too.” can get two and three.

“And that’s our motto: just keep giving to the team. The way Rachin and some of the other boys chased the ball to the boundary is something we are always proud of. That means everyone is committed and everyone gives something to the team, so if we get one, hopefully we get another one and it's nice that it paid off tonight.”

Kohli was fully equipped when the second wicket fell but Mohammed Siraj came out to bat instead. The Night Watchman was the first ball to fall and burned a review trying to survive. Then Kohli came into the game but he grabbed Matt Henry's arm in the middle and lost. Rishabh Pant came out. It was good that no more wickets fell because the next man up, Sarfaraz Khan, was not wearing white jerseys.

India have already lost this series and are looking to avoid their first home defeat in a series of three or more Tests. Everywhere they went they were reminded of these things. Was their fall into this potentially avoidable situation a sign of a team buckling under pressure? Jadeja didn't believe that.

“Only the individual can say what’s going on in their head,” he said. “But when you're behind in the series and a situation like that arises, you feel like you're panicking because you're 2-0 down and you've made a mistake. But when you're up 2-0 and the same thing happens, everyone says it's happening.” But when you're down in the series, even the little things look big, so the next six batsmen have to get close 230 or more. If we bat well in the first innings it will be easier in the second.

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