It was a session in which persistent rain disrupted proceedings in the morning, before clearing the way for play to begin at 1:50 pm. From there on, a 177-run partnership between Sarfaraz and Pant for the fourth wicket put India into the lead.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Pant began by smacking, flat-batting and reverse-sweeping to get his early rush of boundaries. After Sarfaraz ramped William O\u2019Rourke for four, Pant cut through the gap and went inside-out to collect more boundaries. Sarfaraz drilled Glenn Phillips for a boundary before getting the single taking him to 150 for the first time in Tests.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
But in the very next over, Sarfaraz went for a lofted cover drive, but extra bounce from Tim Southee meant the ball lobbed to cover, bringing an end to his wonderful knock, which was laced with 18 fours and three sixes. Pant astonished everyone when he slog-swept Southee for a staggering 107-m six going on the roof at the square-leg boundary.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
There was anticipation and nervousness in the crowd eager to see Pant get his hundred, but the wicketkeeper-batsman's attempt to punch off O\u2019Rourke didn\u2019t account for the extra bounce and rattled the leg-stump, as he got out for 99, his seventh score in the 90s in Tests. O\u2019Rourke again struck at the stroke of tea when Rahul poked at a short-of-length delivery and took an edge behind for New Zealand, who found their mojo back thanks to the second new ball.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Brief scores:<\/p>\r\n\r\n
There was anticipation and nervousness in the crowd eager to see Pant get his hundred, but the wicketkeeper-batsman's attempt to punch off O\u2019Rourke didn\u2019t account for the extra bounce and rattled the leg-stump, as he got out for 99, his seventh score in the 90s in Tests. O\u2019Rourke again struck at the stroke of tea when Rahul poked at a short-of-length delivery and took an edge behind for New Zealand, who found their mojo back thanks to the second new ball.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
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