It was a day expected to be India’s dominance. Unfortunately losing Sehwag in earlier part of play was a dampener. Not only did it slow down the Indian run rate, but also put the match in a bit of balance. Theoretically with the batting to come India looks to have an edge, but a quick wicket or 2 tomorrow morning could still turn the Kiwis back in the game. That’s the difference between Sehwag staying to make a 50+ or near 100 score. There were some solid contributions from Gambhir and Dravid who now looks the one of the yore but they threw the towel when they looked good to bat longer and bat NZ out of the game. Dravid was bowled to the blogger and Gambhir edged one to keeper off Martin. It was good to see Dravid getting the confidence which reflected in his batting. He was looking the Dravid of 2006 until the WI tour. Gambhir now is 0.02 short of a 50 average in the Tests. He has been a remarkable opener in his 2nd innings as Test batsman. He has looked defensive when needed, taken a back seat when Sehwag goes on fire, takes the faster route when a new batsman comes in and when the onus is on him to up the run rate. The flexibility he has shown is tremendous.
Once Dravid and Gambhir were dismissed, Sachin and Laxman slowed down the things. And that was beyond the comprehension. NZ bowling was disciplined at its best and by no means it was better than Aussie or English attack, against whom we have won 3 Tests out of 6. That was where the team lost the chance to go past 300 and take a lead.
Sachin was circumspect. And Laxman was slow starter as usual. Once they had done all the hard work, Laxman lost it to the new ball. That was one opportunity for NZ to claw back in the game. And that’s where the senior most pro in the world cricket’s experience came into picture. Sachin Tendulkar then cut loose and score 30 off 29 balls to steer India close to a 1 run deficit and in process score a precious 50. My superstition about his batting prevents me to write something important about him right now. Yuvraj is the man in now. Pitch tomorrow would be the best to bat on. And if this duo can score another 60-80 runs with some useful contribution from lower order, the lead could go to 150ish, then India could be in a position to win this Test match if they bat well. And that would reverse the trend of past where we lost the opening Test and thus the momentum sans SA 2006.
And I am hopeful Indian batsmen won’t get a whiff of SL or Pak or WI or Eng batsmen to bat on and on. I presume MS and GK want to win the test and not be content with the draw. That would be a change from the earlier tours.
Meanwhile Sreesanth has been ruled out of the IPL for 3 months owing to a stress fracture. He would now get a chance to jig his leg and rock n roll for his IPL team’s mentor and face something community. So he won’t be now facing trouble in dancing despite a stress fracture, but yes he would feel the pinch in playing the game which made him what he is. Amazing trait this guys. This kids just need to learn from their seniors how to deal with the fame and instant success. Dravid has said he felt really good today and that augurs well for the Indian Test cricket future. The trends recently have shown that he and other senior pros are needed. The so called young bunch isn’t ready as well. And the replacements of the veteran spinner Anil Kumble aint ready to replace his boots now and for good. He was one of his style. And there would be none like him ever again in India.
Day 3 would make or break the Indian future in this crucial Test series for the country. For now India seem to be a bit ahead with session scoreline 4.5 – 1.5.
