Rahul Dravid donated ₹35000 to the groundsmen at Kanpur's Green Park Stadium after the first Test match between India and Zealand. Dravid was impressed by their work in making a sporting pitch. Dravid was impressed by the quality of the pitch and decided to reward the men working behind the scenes in Kanpur. India played out a dramatic final day draw vs New Zealand in Kanpur to begin the two-match series with a draw. "We would like to make an official announcement. Mr Rahul Dravid has paid Rs 35,000 personally to our groundsmen," the Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association (UPCA) was quoted saying by PTI after the match ended.
New Zealand held their nerve and showed great resilience to ensure a draw. The Black Cap's number 11 pair of Ajaz Patel and Rachin Ravindra batted with extreme grit in fading light to deny India a victory on the final day. Earlier in the day, New Zealand's opener Tom Latham and night watchman William Somerville managed to play out the entire morning session without losing a single wicket. Latham scored his second half-century of the match in the process. Rahul Dravid praised the players for their 'fighting spirit' and 'composure' they showed in the first test.New Zealand's Rachin Ravindra and Ajaz Patel came up with a determined performance to hold off the Indian spinners in the final hour of the Test to earn a commendable draw as the hosts ended the Test one wicket away from victory. Poor light had a major effect on the match and the head coach also agreed on the same. "Yeah, we were expecting it. We knew that the light kinda dipped a bit at that point in time, how it has been happening for every day. Not very difficult, the guys were pretty switched on and I thought we showed great composure, great fighting spirit to be able to work very hard in the last session, even on a very unresponsive pitch, so I think the guys did well by taking eight wickets after lunch," said Rahul Dravid during a virtual post-match press-conference. Dravid further lauded the young players of the team and said that it is commendable to see them perform for India.
