Continuing with his superb form, Cheteshwar Pujara cracked an unbeaten 101 as India declared their second innings at 216 for three to set New Zealand a massive 475-run target on day four of the third and final cricket Test, here today.
India declared soon after Pujara struck James Neesham for his ninth four to reach his eighth Test century and pressed earnestly for the victory by sending back opener Tom latham (6), who was trapped by Umesh Yadav.
At tea, New Zealand were 38 for one, with opener Martin Guptill (8) and captain Kane Williamson (23) at the crease on a wearing Holkar Stadium pitch.
New Zealand need 337 more runs to win the game with four sessions remaining.
Opener Gautam Gambhir also notched up 50, his first half century since 2012 against England at Kolkata, and also raised 75-run stand with Pujara for second wicket.
Captain Virat Kohli, who made a career-best 211 in the first innings, was dismissed for 17 while the other first innings centurion Ajinkya Rahane remained unbeaten on 23 to add to the excellent 188 he made in the first innings.
Jeetan Patel picked up 2 for 56 while Murali Vijay was run out for 19.
It was expected that India would look to get some quick runs for an early declaration but overnight batsmen Vijay and Pujara started batting in a sedate manner.
Vijay looked a bit more attacking than his partner after resuming at 11 in a team total of 18. He survived when his flick off Matt Henry could not be taken by James Neesham at deep mid-wicket as the fielder dropped the ball back into the playing area while he himself crossed the boundary line.
Vijay was however run out soon afterwards due to a misunderstanding with partner Pujara who first responded to the call for a sharp single to short covers but then sent the former back.
India added just 30 runs in the first hour in 14 overs even as Gambhir joined Pujara to resume his interrupted innings yesterday. He had left the field after suffering a shoulder injury when he dived to save himself from a runout.
Gambhir, on 6 when he retired hurt, rotated the strike well by taking sharp singles.
The duo also put away the occasional bad ball for more runs, including boundary hits, among which was a smashing straight hit by Pujara off left-arm paceman Trent Boult to bring up the fifty of the stand as the scoring rate picked up.
The second fifty of the innings was raised in quicker time than the first with the 100 coming in 27 overs.
34-year-old Gambhir was on the look-out for quick runs and struck six fours before he drove off spinner Patel straight to the short cover fielder.
It broke his 75-run partnership with Pujara for the second wicket. Gambhir, who made 29 on his comeback innings earlier in the match, thus compiled his career’s 22nd half century in his 57th Test which was his first in four years.
Just before lunch, Pujara reached his fourth half-century of the series in a slow 96 balls and with the help of three fours to remain unbeaten at the break in the company of his captain Kohli.
India pressed on the accelerator in the post-lunch period and lost Kohli, trapped in front while attempting a sweep shot off Patel, in the process after he and Pujara had put on 48 runs in 60 balls for the third wicket.
Pujara, who surpassed 350 runs in the series during his knock, and Rahane stitched an unbroken stand of 58 runs in just 54 balls before the declaration came. India added 89 runs in 15 overs after lunch.
The century was the first for Pujara after nine Test matches, his previous one (145 not out) coming in the Colombo Test against Sri lanka last August that paved the way for India’s 2-1 series victory.
His scores in this series read 62, 78, 87, 4 and 41 before today’s innings in the series after having notched up a double hundred and a hundred in the Duleep Trophy in the run-up to the international home season.
The century here was Pujara’s sixth at home and second against the same opposition after his 159 at Hyderabad, his first Test hundred, in 2012.
