Not much to write home about for the day, except for a routine day of typical test match cricket, where 3 half centuries were scored from the Indian side and 4 wickets were captured by the Kiwis.
The day started really well for NZ. Ever since Mills caught Gambhir right in front of the stumps on the very first ball of the day, the confidence of the Kiwis had surged a few notches, despite the fact that, it was a no-ball. What was encouraging was the movement in the air and off the pitch. Not too far since then team India handed them the 1st wicket, a huge one in form of Sehwag, thanks to some indiscrete running between the wickets.
Now NZ could stick to their plans through the day, as the destroyer of strategies was back in the pavilion.
But Dravid and Gambhir held forte till the brink of tea, both scoring fine half centuries (Dravid 66 and Gambhir 72), and India had pushed their nose a bit forward with this strong foundation. Both fell in quick succession, but that brought in Laxman and Tendulkar to crease, who carried the innings forward. When Laxman departed after scoring a 92 ball 30, India were already within striking distance of the NZ first innings total of 279.
At stumps, Sachin was still going strong at 70 and Yuvraj had kind of got a start, and team India was just 1 run behind with 6 wickets in hand.
Even though the batting has been slow (at a rate of 3.04), it has put India in a very strong position, from where we can work towards a big lead. With only the 2nd day over, this test match looks very much like heading towards a result, and for fans like me, to be heading right towards a chapter in 41-year history.
The day started really well for NZ. Ever since Mills caught Gambhir right in front of the stumps on the very first ball of the day, the confidence of the Kiwis had surged a few notches, despite the fact that, it was a no-ball. What was encouraging was the movement in the air and off the pitch. Not too far since then team India handed them the 1st wicket, a huge one in form of Sehwag, thanks to some indiscrete running between the wickets.
Now NZ could stick to their plans through the day, as the destroyer of strategies was back in the pavilion.
But Dravid and Gambhir held forte till the brink of tea, both scoring fine half centuries (Dravid 66 and Gambhir 72), and India had pushed their nose a bit forward with this strong foundation. Both fell in quick succession, but that brought in Laxman and Tendulkar to crease, who carried the innings forward. When Laxman departed after scoring a 92 ball 30, India were already within striking distance of the NZ first innings total of 279.
At stumps, Sachin was still going strong at 70 and Yuvraj had kind of got a start, and team India was just 1 run behind with 6 wickets in hand.
Even though the batting has been slow (at a rate of 3.04), it has put India in a very strong position, from where we can work towards a big lead. With only the 2nd day over, this test match looks very much like heading towards a result, and for fans like me, to be heading right towards a chapter in 41-year history.
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