Welcome to Sportstar’s LIVE coverage of Day 4 of the first Test match between India and New Zealand from the Green Park International Stadium in Kanpur.

Day 4 LIVE action will begin at 9-30 AM IST. Stay tuned!

DAY 3 RECAP

After two days of fast-bowling exhibition, Axar Patel brought back the familiar sight of wreckage by spin to give the home team the upper hand in the first Test here. The left-arm spinner continued his dream run in Test matches, claiming his fifth five-wicket haul in seven innings as New Zealand was bowled out for 296 in the first innings, failing to build on its foundation set by the openers.

READ: IND vs NZ: Axar Patel picks fifth fifer in four Tests

India was ahead by 63 at stumps, with Shubman Gill having been dismissed bowled for 1 by an excellent delivery from Kyle Jamieson that pitched on a good length and snuck through the defences.

Gill’s dismissal was the odd stumble by India as Axar, the star of the day, spun a tight web around the batters. Two of Axar’s wickets were off deliveries bowled from around the wicket that straightened after pitching. The right handers played for the angle created by his round-arm action and paid the price for it. The left-handers, on the other hand, were beaten by the sharply turning deliveries from over the wicket. It helped that the pitch assisted turn. All in all, the left-arm spinner was quite a handful and overshadowed his spin partners R. Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja securing the spotlight for himself.

-Abhishek Mukherjee

FULL REPORT

India Playing XI: Mayank Agarwal, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane (c), Shreyas Iyer, Ravindra Jadeja, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma.

New Zealand Playing XI: Tom Latham, Will Young, Kane Williamson (c), Ross Taylor, Henry Nicholls, Tom Blundell (wk), Rachin Ravindra, Kyle Jamieson, Tim Southee, Ajaz Patel, William Somerville.

SQUADS

India: Ajinkya Rahane (c), Mayank Agarwal, Ravichandran Ashwin, Srikar Bharat, Shreyas Iyer, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Axar Patel, Prasidh Krishna. Cheteshwar Pujara, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Ishant Sharma, Shubman Gill, Umesh Yadav, Suryakumar Yadav, Jayant Yadav.

New Zealand: Kane Williamson (c), Tom Blundell (vc), Kyle Jamieson, Tom Latham (wk), Daryl Mitchell, Henry Nicholls, Ajaz Patel, Glenn Phillips (wk), Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, William Somerville, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Neil Wagner, Will Young.

WHERE TO WATCH IND VS NZ 1ST TEST DAY 4 LIVE?

India vs New Zealand first Test Day 4 will be aired LIVE on the Star Sports Network at 9-30 AM IST. The match will also be available for live streaming on Disney+Hotstar.