Southee's 5-for checks India's advance to 339-8 at lunch

Updated 26 Nov, 2021

KANPUR: New Zealand's Tim Southee on Friday completed a five-for on day two of the first Test to slow India's advance, leaving them at 339-8 at lunch after debutant Shreyas Iyer's maiden Test century.

With India having been 258-4 overnight, bowling all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin was unbeaten on 38 off 54 balls and pacer Umesh Yadav on four going into lunch.

Southee, bowling with the second new ball, was the most probing bowler in heavily polluted Kanpur with figures of five for 69 in his 27.4-over spell, four of the wickets coming in Friday's morning session.

The veteran immediately found purchase on the slow wicket and bowled Ravindra Jadeja on his 12th delivery of the day for 50, having failed to add to his overnight score.

This broke Jadeja's 121-run partnership with Iyer.

The debutant, on the other end, looked fluent and picked up from his overnight score of 75 to hit two fours in the first over off Kyle Jamieson, the Black Caps' standout bowler on Thursday.

White ball specialist Iyer hit 13 fours and two sixes in his 171-ball innings before he was undone by Southee and caught by Will Young at cover to reduce India to 305-7.

The pacer also removed wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha for one off 12 balls when he edged a delivery to Tom Blundell behind the stumps.

Bowling all-rounder Axar Patel too fell to Southee after edging a delivery to Blundell after scoring three off nine balls.

Jamieson, the other pacer, could not add to his tally after three wickets -- of openers Mayank Agarwal, Shubman Gill and stand-in captain Ajinkya Rahane -- on the first day.

He has bowled 22.2 overs for 85 runs so far.

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