New Zealand aim to topple http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750 in second Test
Buoyed by a brilliant performance in the first Test match of the series the New Zealanders are aiming to build on the momentum and topple the Indians in the second Test that starts in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Hyderabad-c792 on Friday.
The visitors gave an outstanding performance on day three and four of the match. Two days that they completely dominated, which gave them a real chance of pulling off a major upset, against the number one ranked Test team.
They then ran into an obdurate Harbhajan Singh and Venkat Laxman, who played resolutely and brushed aside any hopes of a win on the final day.
The first day had belonged to India as they amassed more than 300 runs with http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Virender-Sehwag-c95429 smashing the Black Caps to all parts of the Motera stadium.
He along with the “wall of India” http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Rahul-c83321 Dravid, took the hosts to a formidable position yet the middle and lower order failed to capitalise on the brilliant start fully.
The Indians were bowled out for 487 runs in their first innings and gained an upper hand by dismissing the top four New Zealand batsmen cheaply.
Facing the prospect of a follow-on the visitors were brought back in the match by an outstanding partnership between Jessie Ryder and Kane Williamson. The left handed Ryder was dismissed moments before the close of play on day three of the match.
Willamson, however, cashed in on his start and posted a fine debut century becoming only the 8th batsman from his country to post a hundred on Test debut.
The New Zealanders finished 28 runs shy of the Indian total ending their innings at 457. The hosts had expected to bat on and pile on the runs in their second innings, yet they were in for a rude shock as on the fourth afternoon their top order was blown
away by a fantastic spell of pace bowling by veteran new ball bowler Chris Martin.
Martin took five wickets in an extraordinary performance and almost pulled off an incredible win for his team, before the heroics of Laxman and Harbhajan thwarted the victory bid.
After the match the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/New-Zealand-c754 skipper Daniel Vettori praised his team for their superb effort and vowed to carry on the momentum in the second match of the series.
The wicket for the Hyderabad wicket is expected to help the batsmen and would have very little help for the faster bowlers. The spinners are expected to come in to play on day three and four of the match, hence the team that wins the toss would want to make
the most of good batting conditions on day one and two of the Test.
The New Zealanders would be pinning their hopes on their bowling attack to go through the Indian batting line-up that has some of the best batting talent in the game.
Chris Martin would once again spearhead the attack while spinners Vettori and Jeetan Patel would also be keen on making an impression on the Indian batting.
They would also need a combined effort from their batsmen, who would have to continue their performance of the first Test.
One area of concern for the Black Caps is their top order where Tim McIntosh has suffered a dip in form and found the seam and swing of Indian pace man Zaheer Khan too tough to handle.
The rest of the batting line-up would also need to buckle down and back the top order especially if the Black Caps want to make an impression and shock the Indians in their own backyard.
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