After leaving New Zealand 315-9 overnight and returning with the second new ball 11 deliveries ago, England were able to bat almost immediately on Sunday morning.
Instead, they showed Santner too much respect by allowing him to stage a strike. The left-hander added 26 to his 50 on the first day. O’Rourke kept his streak alive at five games rather than 30.
While Santner and O’Rourke’s batting frustrated England, O’Rourke’s bowling in particular tore at the visitors’ hearts. During his eight spells in the heat, he averaged speeds of over 130 km/h, but more importantly, he used his height to generate venomous lift.
Santner, the hero of New Zealand’s victory in India, is playing his first Test of the series. When he came into bowling, he immediately generated a turn, which made it even more interesting that England ignored Shoaib Bashir, who did not bowl off-spin until the 157th over of the match.
New Zealand’s evening batting was merely an exercise in increasing their lead. Young, India’s man of the series, has once again shown how much he has been missing in the first two Tests of the series, while Williamson is helping himself on a pitch where he was averaging 94 before the start of the match.
O’Rourke’s day ended with a second time with the bat, emerging as the night watchman after Young accosted bodyguard Stokes with Bethell. It was a failed endeavor, ending with the same bowler getting the upper hand.
