India ahead of New Zealand with great effort from http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Rahul-c83321 Dravid in Nagpur
Rahul Dravid added an impressive 191 points, with a declared 69 in the second day of the third Test at Nagpur this week, leaving http://www.senore.com/Cricket/New-Zealand-c754 at a major disadvantage.
Dravid's strong performance puts http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750 in a good position for victory, as the player continues to provide the driving force behind India’s play against New Zealand over the past two days.
Dravid has played a key role in bringing India from 292-2 points to 566-8, and has helped gain the team a 373 lead in the first innings against New Zealand.
Highlights of the third day's match included well-executed supporting plays by India’s team captain Mahendra Dhoni, who added 98 points, and a good performance by Harbhajan Sing. However Dravid has been largely credited with the success as he has had the
most successful run.
Dravid told reporters that he hopes to score early on in the next day in order to keep India’s advantage. "The key in this game, as we saw this morning, is that you have got to make an impact while the ball is hard and new," the 37-year-old said in an interview
with New Cricket channel.
Having achieved 31 tests, Dravid insisted on the importance of not taking the pressure off of New Zealand, and made clear his intention to work as hard as he needs to in order to keep India’s advantage. "Tomorrow's morning session is going to be really important.
The ball is still hard and if we have a few quick wickets early then we can put a lot of pressure on them," he said.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Mahendra-Singh-Dhoni-c73820 recorded 193 at six wickets along with Dravid, who said that Dhoni’s contribution was crucial to winning the game.
"We had just lost three wickets in the morning and it was nice to see him play positively,” said Dravid.
Sachin Tendulkar added four to his total of 57, and India lost http://www.senore.com/Cricket/VVS-Laxman-c2772 and Suresh Raina.
Dravid drove home his conviction that the Indian team needs to take full advantage of its lead over New Zealand, and not give any leeway for the opposing team to make a surprise comeback.
Walking away with 31 overs and high hopes for the next day of the Test, Dravid knows that with the tourists down 349 runs behind India, New Zealand in going to have a difficult run and a lot of catching up to do if it intends on winning.
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