New Zealand wins first test in India since 1988

BENGALURU, India (AP) — New Zealand weathered a nervy chase and a superb spell by Indian pacer Jasprit Bumrah to win its first test on Indian soil since 1988.

New Zealand made 110-2 on a rain-affected final day on Sunday to beat India by eight wickets and take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

Will Young and Rachin Ravindra shared a 75-run partnership for the third wicket to complete a famous victory after rain had again intervened early in the morning session. It was the first instance since 2000 when a visiting side chased 100-plus in the fourth innings to win in India.

Young finished unbeaten on 48 runs off 76 balls, scoring six fours and a six, while Ravindra was 39 not out off 46 deliveries, hitting six fours.

Bumrah finished with 2-29 after a stunning spell that removed both Black Caps openers and also beat the outside edge of the batters time and again, but couldn't find the luck India desperately needed to make inroads into the Kiwis batting order.

After the first day was washed out, India was then bowled out for its lowest test score at home in its first innings – 46 runs on day two. It rebounded with 462 runs in the second innings, but New Zealand’s first innings’ effort of 402 runs — with 134 from Ravindra — had the tourists in the ascendancy throughout.

Ravindra was named player of the match. “It was a nice wicket to bat on, so the odds were in my favour. Preparations help – as long as I have clarity of what needs to be done, it’s great. I wasn’t trying to attack them (bowlers), but I was taking care of my positions, which is important in this part of the world. Luckily enough it all worked out,” he said.

Earlier Sunday, play started an hour late due to a morning shower in Bengaluru.

Bumrah trapped captain Tom Latham lbw for a duck with the second ball of the morning. Latham reviewed, but the TV umpire's decision went against him.

It was a tough opening spell for the batters, with Devon Conway never looking comfortable against Bumrah. He was out lbw for 17 runs in the 13th over as New Zealand was reduced to 35-2.

But Young and Ravindra calmed the nerves of the tourists' dressing room with their attacking intent and fine stroke play.

Once Bumrah’s spell was over, they settled down and attacked the Indian spinners. Kuldeep Yadav went for 8.7 runs per over in his short spell and Ravindra Jadeja didn't fare much better.

The pair put on 50 off 51 balls to lift New Zealand to the target 10 minutes prior to lunch in the extended morning session when Young played a cut shot for four off Jadeja.

It sealed New Zealand’s just third win on Indian soil in 37 tests.

“It was a good effort with the bat in the second innings. We didn’t bat well in the first, so we knew what was ahead. We knew it would be a challenge but we didn’t expect to be out under 50 runs. New Zealand bowled well and challenged every corner of our bat, and we failed to respond to that,” said Indian skipper Rohit Sharma after the loss.

The second match in the three-test series will be played in Pune starting Thursday and the final match is in Mumbai from Nov. 1.

AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket

The ball hits the helmet of New Zealand's Will Young as he attempts to play a shot on a delivery by India's Ravindra Jadeja during the day five of the first cricket test match between India and New Zealand at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, in Bengaluru, India, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

India's Virat Kohli, left, reacts as New Zealand's Rachin Ravindra, right, bats during the day five of the first cricket test match between India and New Zealand at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, in Bengaluru, India, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

India's captain Rohit Sharma looks at the ball before passing it to his teammate Jasprit Bumrah during the day five of the first cricket test match between India and New Zealand at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, in Bengaluru, India, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

New Zealand's Rachin Ravindra, right, and Will Young run between the wickets to score during the day five of the first cricket test match between India and New Zealand at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, in Bengaluru, India, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

India's Virat Kohli, third left, talks to his teammates after bad light stopped play on the day four of the first cricket test match between India and New Zealand at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, in Bengaluru, India, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

India's Jasprit Bumrah, right, celebrates with teammate Virat Kohli after the dismissal of New Zealand's captain Tom Latham during the day five of the first cricket test match between India and New Zealand at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, in Bengaluru, India, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

India's Jasprit Bumrah appeals for the wicket of New Zealand's Devon Conway before asking for a successful review during the day five of the first cricket test match between India and New Zealand at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, in Bengaluru, India, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

New Zealand's Rachin Ravindra plays a shot during the day five of the first cricket test match between India and New Zealand at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, in Bengaluru, India, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

The ball hits the helmet of New Zealand's Will Young as he attempts to play a shot on a delivery by India's Ravindra Jadeja during the day five of the first cricket test match between India and New Zealand at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, in Bengaluru, India, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

New Zealand's Will Young hits a boundary during the day five of the first cricket test match between India and New Zealand at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, in Bengaluru, India, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

India's captain Rohit Sharma reacts as he leaves the field after their loss against New Zealand on the day five of the first cricket test match at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, in Bengaluru, India, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

New Zealand's Will Young, left, and Rachin Ravindra celebrate after their win against India on the day five of the first cricket test match at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, in Bengaluru, India, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A former Park Service ranger said Friday that U.S. Senate hopeful Tim Sheehy of Montana has been lying about a bullet wound that the candidate said came from fighting in Afghanistan — going public with an accusation that has nagged the Republican’s campaign for months.

The claim from former ranger Kim Peach that Sheehy in fact shot himself on a family trip in Montana was immediately dismissed by Sheehy and his allies as a smear campaign engineered by Democrats in a race that's expected to help decide control of the Senate.

But with the election less than three weeks away, it adds to the huge pressures that the political newcomer already faced as he challenges three-term Democratic incumbent Sen. Jon Tester.

Sheehy is a former U.S. Navy SEAL and his military record is a centerpiece of his bid for office. During stump speeches and in a book published by Sheehy last year, he recounts being wounded on multiple occasions during combat, including in the arm in 2012.

Sheehy was awarded a Purple Heart for wounds sustained in a separate combat incident and was also awarded a Bronze Star.

A Sheehy campaign spokesperson said Peach was a partisan Democrat pushing a “defamatory story.”

“Anyone trying to take away from the fact that Tim Sheehy signed up for war as a young man and spent most of his 20s in some of the most dangerous places in the world is either a partisan hack, a journalist with an agenda, or outright a disgusting person,” spokesperson Katie Martin said.

He’s faced scrutiny over the arm wound since April, when The Washington Post quoted a Glacier National Park ranger anonymously saying Sheehy accidentally shot himself in 2015, when he was travelling with his family and his gun fell out of a vehicle and fired when it hit the ground in a parking lot on Logan Pass. The ranger who was quoted in the story was Peach.

Sheehy was ticketed and paid a $525 fine for illegally discharging a firearm in Glacier, government records show.

The Republican candidate said in response to the April story that he lied to the park ranger — not about being wounded in Afghanistan.

Sheehy said he fell while hiking at Glacier and injured his arm, then concocted the story about the bullet wound to cover up the fact that the 2012 incident may have been friendly fire. He said he didn’t want members of his SEAL unit in Afghanistan to suffer any consequences.

With absentee voting in Montana underway and Sheehy poised for potential victory, Peach, a Democrat, said Friday that he “couldn’t let him get way with something like that without the truth being told.”

Peach said he interviewed Sheehy at the hospital where he was treated for the bullet wound and briefly confiscated the gun. Before returning it, Peach said he unloaded the weapon and found five live rounds and one that had been fired.

“At the time, he was obviously embarrassed about it. And you know, he admitted to what I was there for — the gun going off in the park," Peach told The Associated Press. “He knows the truth and the truth isn't complicated. It's when you start lying things get complicated.”

His decision to go public was reported earlier by the Post.

Attorneys for Sheehy's campaign said Peach’s recent statements differ from the facts in a declaration submitted by the ranger after interviewing Sheehy in 2015.

The declaration made no mention of Peach examining the gun and finding only five live rounds, the attorneys wrote in a letter provided by the campaign. There was no gunshot residue on Sheehy when he went to the hospital, nor any gunshots reported in Glacier that day, the attorneys said.

"There is no physical evidence suggesting that Mr. Sheehy discharged his firearm at Glacier National Park. Because it didn’t happen," attorneys Daniel Watkins and Dustin Pusch wrote.

Peach worked as a park ranger for more than three decades and is now retired. He lives in small town near Glacier. He's posted a photo of himself on social media wearing a “Make America Wrong Again” hat and said he votes for Democrats.

He denied any connection with the Tester campaign or other Democratic organizations.

A recent Tester campaign ad criticizes Sheehy for lying about the gunshot wound. A campaign spokesperson did not have an immediate comment Friday.

The Montana Democratic Party seized on Peach’s latest comments as providing a “firsthand account” of what happened to Sheehy.

But Mike Berg, communications director for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, rejected the latest reiteration of the accusations against Sheehy. He suggested it's a sign of Democrats' desperation because they fear Tester will lose.

“It's the last gasp of a career politician who sees his career about to end,” Berg said.

FILE - Tim Sheehy speaking during the second day of the Republican National Convention, July 16, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)