On the fourth day of the first Test match between India and New Zealand at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday, rain returned, forcing an early lunch. With 12 runs separating them from New Zealand at the time of stoppage, India was at 344/3 in 71 overs, aided by a first Test century from Sarfaraz Khan and his 12th fifty from Rishabh Pant.

Bengaluru, Oct. 19 (IANS) On the fourth day of the first Test match between India and New Zealand at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday, rain returned, forcing an early lunch break. With 12 runs separating them from New Zealand at the time of stoppage, India was at 344/3 in 71 overs, aided by a first Test century from Sarfaraz Khan and his 12th fifty from Rishabh Pant.

Sarfaraz, who had been undefeated at 125, resumed from 70. He was still daring in his approach, peppering the square boundary on the off-side with a ton of cheeky backfoot cuts and slices.

Pant, who came out of his short-lived patience to unleash his aggressive personality, has been a great support system for him. The wicketkeeper-batter is now 53 not out. If the rain gods move swiftly, Sarfaraz and Pant’s unbroken 113-run partnership—they both competed for the India U19 squad in the 2016 U19 World Cup—means that India still has a slim chance of pulling off an improbable victory.

With ominous clouds hovering above, Sarfaraz opened the scoring with two off-side cuts against William O’Rourke in the morning. He then took another four and beat Matt Henry for two more boundaries. If Tom Blundell hadn’t missed the throw at the stumps, a massive mix-up between the two might have resulted in Pant, who was halfway down the pitch, being run out.

Right-hander Sarfaraz achieved his hundred with a commanding blow, a backfoot punch off Southee clearing the in-field for four after Pant misplayed a lift off Henry over mid-on for four. Sarfaraz ran with the bat high and his wrists up. The crowd stood to cheer his amazing knock under duress as he removed the helmet, yelled, and swung the bat with joy before receiving a bear embrace from Pant.

As Sarfaraz persisted in paddling and dabbing his way to get further boundaries, Pant started to show off by hitting Southee for six and four. After hitting Ajaz Patel for two massive sixes with excellent footwork, he was able to overturn an LBW call because replays revealed a significant inside edge.

The very next ball, when Pant got bat on the skiddy delivery, saw New Zealand burn a review. Pant then reached his fifty in fifty balls with two more boundaries off of Glenn Phillips and Prayag Patel, allaying any doubts about his health after limping off the field on day two after being struck on the right knee while on wicketkeeping duty.

Brief scores: New Zealand 402 (Rachin Ravindra 134, Devon Conway 91; Ravindra Jadeja 3-72) leads India 46 and 344/3 (Sarfaraz Khan 125*, Virat Kohli 70, Rishabh Pant 53*; Ajaz Patel 2-100) by 12 runs.