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An unbeaten half-century by Shubman Gill (52 not out off 87 balls) steered India to 82/1 at lunch on Day One of the first Test against New Zealand at the Green Park Stadium here on Thursday. Giving Gill company at the crease has been vice-captain Cheteshwar Pujara (15 not out off 61 balls).
After India elected to bat first, Gill survived a chance in the third over as Tim Southee had him lbw but the right-hander got to reverse the decision as replays showed a big inside edge. Kyle Jamieson, who constantly probed the off-stump channel, got his first wicket on Indian soil as Mayank Agarwal (13) nicked behind to keeper Tom Blundell in the eighth over. Post Agarwal's fall, Gill saw off the tricky period from Southee and Jamieson. He had luck on his side at six in escaping an lbw shout in the first over of Ajaz Patel. From there, Gill teared into Patel, taking him for four fours and oozed confidence in smashing the left-arm spinner for a straight six. Pujara, on the other hand, kept playing the second fiddle while seeing an impressive Gill attack from the other end. Earlier, both India and New Zealand fielded a debutant -- the hosts giving his first cap to batter Shreyas Iyer while the Kiwis including left-arm spin all-rounder Rachin Ravindra. Brief scores: India 82/1 in 29 overs (Shubman Gill 52 not out, Cheteshwar Pujara 15 not out, Kyle Jamieson 1/12) against New Zealand --IANS nr/bsk ( 260 Words) 2021-11-25-11:54:03 (IANS)
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