India vs http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750’s healthy position on a shortened opening session on the second day of the first Test, adding 64 in 21 overs to reach 371 for 5 at lunch at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, August 24, 2012.
Despite staying firm like in the opening day, the tourists failed to get a much needed breakthrough, owing mainly to the overnight Indian pair's resilience, which focused more on consolidating rather than going for the kill; a move which was warranted due to the lack of batting depth and the overcast condition.
In an anticipation of rain, the start was halted for up to 25 minutes with covers still on. However, with no showers, play begun under cloudy conditions. Pujara, who had been the highlight of the first day, kept going along with the same tempo, showing tolerance to any delivery outside his hitting zone.
He still managed to reach another milestone, posting 151 at lunch after resuming from 119. His knock was again flawless, with the only blemish coming when he was slow to respond to a call from the skipper and had to rely on a mis-field from http://www.senore.com/Cricket/BB-McCullum-c1129 to get home.
Dhoni, who looked aggressive in the final hour of play yesterday, also took an unhurried approach but was guilty of playing some rash strokes which luckily fell in no-man’s land. http://www.senore.com/Cricket/CS-Martin-c1295 also bowled a probing line and length, including testing the Indian skipper with a few bouncers, but Dhoni stood firm and duly brought up his fifty fifteen minutes before lunch.
The final few overs saw the batters accelerating, with the Kiwi bowlers failing to extract much from the track. http://www.senore.com/Cricket/JS-Patel-c1747, the leg-spinner, has disappointed so far but will need to do more in turning conditions.
In the absence of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/SR-Tendulkar-c2556 – all failed to capitalize on their starts, with the away bowling contingent giving a good account of themselves.
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