2nd Test: Harbhajan takes India to 436-9

PTI

Hyderabad, 14 November 2010: Harbhajan Singh’s delightful fifty (85 not out) sparked the Indian innings as the hosts took 86-run lead and finished the third day of the second Test at 436/9 against New Zealand at the Rajiv Gandhi International stadium on Sunday.

 

Earlier, India lost three wickets cheaply after tea. In-form VVS Laxman scored yet another fifty before perishing for 74, while Indian skipper MS Dhoni once again failed with the bat as he added just 14 runs to the team’s total. Zaheer Khan, too, top edged a bouncer to the fine leg. India were 27 runs behind New Zealand’s first innings score of 350 at tea.

 

Laxman has hit 11 boundaries off 159 deliveries even as India was made to struggle hard for runs by the visiting side. He was involved in useful half-century stands with Rahul Dravid (45) and Suresh Raina (20) as India made slow progress. India’s scoring rate picked up a little in the second session, when it scored 86 runs off 25 overs but lost two wickets.

 

 

Laxman and Dravid added 79 for the fourth wicket to bring the innings back on track after India had lost three wickets in the space of 24 runs starting from the second day after openers Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir fell in quick succession following a 160-run stand.

 

Laxman and Dravid were cautious after Sachin Tendulkar’s dismissal earlier on Sunday and India scored only 59 runs before lunch. They were unable to get the ball away in the face of disciplined bowling by the Kiwis, who were successful in building pressure despite the pitch looking conducive for stroke-play.

 

Dravid did not carry the confidence of having scored a century in the previous match, consuming 144 deliveries for his watchful 45. He hit only four boundaries before being trapped lbw by seamer Tim Southee a little after lunch as he played tentatively. Captain Daniel Vettori was the pick of the bowlers, the wicket of Suresh Raina being his third of the innings.

 

Tendulkar was out early, looking off-color in the 10 deliveries he faced. He jumped out to Vettori, only to get a thick edge that went to the right of Ross Taylor at slip. Top-ranked India has been given an unexpected challenge so far in this three-test series, having struggled hard to draw the first match at Ahmedabad.