IND vs NZ | Reports: Rahul Dravid gives Rs 35,000 to Kanpur groundsmen for preparing sporting pitch

The first of two India-New Zealand Tests played in Kanpur turned out to be a nail-biting affair, with the visitors showing great resilience on the final day to salvage a draw. India headed into the final session on Day 5 needing six wickets for a win, and they managed to get five of them, before debutant Rachin Ravindra 18* (91) and Ajaz Patel 2* (23) stood firm for 8.4 overs under fading lights.

It was a rare occurrence of a Test match in India being well poised heading into the final session of the game in recent times, as the trend is usually that of spinners dominating in the last two days with the surfaces tending to slow down significantly. 

As per a PTI report, India head coach Rahul Dravid paid Rs 35,000 to the Green Park Stadium ground staff, led by Shiv Kumar, for having prepared a sporting pitch.

"We would like to make an official announcement. Mr. Rahul Dravid has paid ₹35,000 personally to our groundsmen," the Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association (UPCA) announced in the press box after the game.

While batsmen did find run-scoring difficult, they did so successfully on proper application, as shown by Shreyas Iyer, who became the first Indian batsman to score a hundred and fifty on Test debut, and Tom Latham, who top-scored for the Blackcaps in either innings with 95 and 52.

The wickets column wasn’t dominated by spin alone in the match. While it did so for India, with Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel bagging 17 of the 19 New Zealand wickets, the visitors found success with seam and swing, as Tim Southee returned 5/69 and 3/75, while Kyle Jamieson bagged three wickets in each innings.

The second Test will be played at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium from Friday, December 3.