The road to victory is not easy for Team India, this has happened only once so far

IND vs NZ / The road to victory is not easy for Team India, this has happened only once so far

IND vs NZ - The road to victory is not easy for Team India, this has happened only once so far

IND vs NZ: The third match of the three-match Test series being played between India and New Zealand has reached a very exciting situation. By the end of the second day's play, while the Indian team was all out for 263 runs in its first innings and gained a marginal lead of 28 runs over the Kiwi team, in the second innings, New Zealand had gained a lead of 143 runs by scoring 171 runs for the loss of 9 wickets. Thus, India is likely to get a target of around 150 runs in the fourth innings, which is considered quite challenging considering the current condition of the pitch.

Successful chase of more than 150 runs at Wankhede Stadium - a rare achievement

Historically, chasing a target in the fourth innings on the pitch of Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium has proved to be difficult. So far, only once has a team successfully chased more than 150 runs in the fourth innings here. This feat was achieved by South Africa in the year 2000, when they successfully crossed the target of 163 runs against India. After this, in the match played between India and Australia in 2004, Australia got a target of 107 runs in the fourth innings, but they could score only 93 runs. Spin bowlers especially dominate this pitch, so it is going to be a very difficult task for the Indian team to cross this target of victory in the fourth innings.

The responsibility of the Indian top order will be heavy

So far in this Test series, the performance of the Indian batsmen has not been as impressive as expected. The bats of veteran batsmen like captain Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have looked silent. In such a situation, to chase this difficult target in the fourth innings, the Indian batting order will have to perform in an organized and balanced way. Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant, who scored half-centuries in the first innings, will once again be in everyone's sight. This challenge will not be easy for Team India, especially on this pitch where the effect of spin bowlers is being seen a lot.

The last day's game is going to be exciting not only for Team India but also for cricket lovers.