India in NewZealand: 2nd test, Day 2 review : Ryder gets a double ton

Indian chances of claiming their 100th test win, and re-writing the history by winning the series in New zealand look slim as the second day of the second test at Napier was completely dominated by the home team. The Indian bowlers looked all over the place on their pitch map to right hand and left hand batsman. Harbhajan Singh who got six wickets in the 2nd inning of the first test match was seen helpless without turn. Daniel vettori and the New zealand batsman capitalized on the opportunity as they set a massive score of 619/9 declared.



The Indian team never looked organized in the field, The day however didn't present many opportunities India's way. It was all a New Zealand and more so a Ryder show. Ryder brought up another 100 run partnership with James Franklin scoring majority of runs in boundaries. Franklin was soon run-out. Ryder played the ball into the covers and out they went, Yuvraj singh with a clean pick up and throw, with Dinesh karthick taking off the bails dismissed Franklin run out to a good 55 off 122 balls. It was the only way Indian's looked like picking wickets.

Ryder and McCullum stitched together another quick 50 run partnership to take the score past what looked like an improbable 450 mark. Ryder hardly broke any sweat as he brought on his 200 but soon got careless as he was out bowled to a full Zaheer Khan delivery. The ball was bowled outside off , Ryder tried to smash it covers ended up played on much to the delight of Zaheer khan who got his important third wicket. A classic knock from Ryder came to an end with NZ at 477/6.

Vettori joined MCCullum at the crease, India should have capitalized on the opportunity with 2 relatively new batsmen at crease. However it was a day where the bat dominated the ball, Both MCCullum and Vettori brought up their fifties at relatively fast speed to bring up another 100 run partnership. The duo added 138 runs in total to take New zealand past 600 but Vettori lost his stumps to Ishant Sharma who bowled a full length in swinger which took the inside edge of the bat played back on to the stumps. McCullum brought up his hundred and lost his wicket soon trying to up the anti. he was out caught by Sachin Tendulkar at deep point trying to play a short pitched deliver over the 66m boundary on the offside for six. Ishant taking his third of the inning.

Jeetan patel and Ian OBrein could add only one run when patel was out caught in the deep by Ishant Sharma off a Harbhajan Singh delivery. A consolation wicket for Bhajji who looked out of form throughout the inning. Newzealand declared the inning just before tea at 619/9 with a session and three days to play.

India's only hope at this time was to start well and hope one of their openers got a big hundred. Sehwag started off in blistering fashion smacking a six and 5 fours before he was out trying under edging the ball to the hands of wicket keeper McCullum off Vettori for a quickfire 34 off 25. Rahul Dravid joined Gambhir at the crease with India at 48/1. The duo batted out 8 more overs before Gambhir tried to smash Jeetan patel over the boundary six only ending up in the hands of Daniel Vettori at mid-on. He was out for 16.

To everybody's surprise, in-walked Ishant Sharma as night watchman with well over 10 overs remaining in the day. He could only lst 5 overs with Dravid taking majority off the strike. Ishant lost his wicket out lbw to a arm ball from Captain dan Vettori forcing Sachin to come out to the middle to face the last few overs. India played out the remaining overs to end the say at 79/3 with sachin on 0 and Dravid on 21.

It was yet another superb day at the office for the Kiwis as they extended their total to a massive one thanks to the double ton by Ryder and a handsome hundred by McCullum with good contribution from the skipper Dan himself. India continued to disappoint with the ball and when put in to bat, they simply didn't know what to do. Their approach would raise a few eyebrows, ofcourse you can't bend Virender Sehwag's style but Gautam Gambhir kicked his wicket away to push his side into deeper trouble. The night-watchman trick didn't work good and now India are three down staring at a cliffy task. New Zealand are in a strong position and are dictating terms to the visitors at the moment. Third day's play should be another interesting affair. Even drawing this contest would take a lot of doing. There's still quite a few big names in the batting line-up of the Indians but the task ahead is no smaller. The Indians will really have to bat out of their skins to ensure a draw.





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England In West Indies: 3rd ODI Preview: Flintoff to return

With the five match one day series tied at 1-1, England would be wanting to thrust their authority on West Indies in an effort to take lead in the series. Good news came their way, when Andrew Flintoff was declared fit for the third ODI to be played today in Barbados, West Indies. Flintoff returns after recovering from the hip injury that forced him to miss the final two Tests of last month's 1-0 series defeat.



With the series squared at 1-1, Flintoff's return will be a boost for England after they were comfortably outplayed during their 21-run loss in the second match in Guyana. He had been close to selection for that game, having undergone intensive treatment since flying home for a week after the third Test in Antigua.

"I've bowled as near to 100% as I probably can do in a net because playing in a match brings a bit more out of you," Flintoff told reporters in Barbados. "I've been bowling for the last week, bowled 10 overs over the previous two days and done my training and work. I was close to playing on Sunday but we erred on the side of caution and I'll definitely be fit for Friday."

Flintoff will probably return in place of either Steve Harmison or James Anderson, even though both men showed impressive form during the second match. Another alternative would be to rest Gareth Batty, the specialist spinner.

England Captain Andrew Strauss would want his team to put up a better bowling and batting performance in this match after they lost by 21 runs in the previous match. The top 6 need to score a lot of runs and given the flat batting tracks in West Indies, A score of 300 is a below par score. Flintoff's presence will affect the way the team plays on the ground, but the man may not be in full power as he is just returning from injury. Flintoff will be wanting to get some bat on the ball and score some runs as the rest of the team will have to take winning responsibilities.

Uncapped Barbados batsman Dale Richards and Trinidad fast bowler Ravi Rampaul have been included in the West Indies squad for the third and fourth one-day internationals against England. Richards, an opening batsman, replaced Devon Smith who did not play in either of the first two ODIs. He was also in the squad for the first Test against England but had to withdraw because of a foot injury. Rampaul replaced the Daren Powell who has been out of form during the contests against England. Powell took only six wickets in the five-Test series at nearly 70 apiece and took 1 for 27 in five overs in the first ODI. Rampaul, who had played 30 ODIs, last appeared for West Indies on the tour of South Africa in early 2008.

Expect a close finish this time around as the teams meet each other in Barbados tonight. Match starts 7.30PM IST. Do come back for more news, reviews and previews.





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India in NewZealand: Ryder and Taylor put NZ in strong position : 2nd Test, Day 1, Review

Napier: Ross Taylor and Jesse Ryder combined for a record 271-run partnership to help New Zealand recover from a disastrous start and reach 351 for four at the end of the first day of the second Test against India. Taylor (151) and Ryder (137 not out) had come together at 23-3 within the first hour when Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma destroyed New Zealand's top order after the hosts had won the toss and opted to bat on a good wicket at McLean Park.



The weather looked good and sun was already shining, Daniel vettori didn't hesitate one bit in winning the toss and electing to bat first. Sehwag standing captian for MS Dhoni who had to sit out because of a back strain announced the only change, Dinesh karthick replacing MS Dhoni. Newzealand on the othr hand made a couple of changes, Jamie how replacing the injured Daniel Flynn and Jeetan patel played as the second spinner to replace the out-of-form Kyle mills.

Newzealand opening pair of Martin Guptill and McIntosh started the inning steadily attacking the loose balls and leaving the good ones outside off. The first runs came off Zaheer Khan's second ball to Tim McIntosh, who caressed a square-drive to the boundary. McIntosh edged a few balls into the vacant slip areas in the first few overs, martin guptill too survived some of India's initial swing bowling. McIntosh was living dangerously and soon came the downfall, he edged one through to the wicket keeper who claimed the catch cleanly leaving NZ at 21 fro 1 in the 8ht over of the match. Television replays clearly showed the ball missing the bat by a good margin. Umpire Billy Doctrove went by the movement and sound to turn it in India's favor.

Trying to drive when defense was the better option, Jamie How - in at No. 3 for an injured Daniel Flynn - had no clue about a full and swinging Zaheer special and had his stumps splayed. New Zealand were 22 for 2 in nine overs and this was a critical stage as Ross Taylor joined Martin Guptill. There wasn't much movement and all the batsmen needed to do was get themselves in, runs would come. Guptill looked far from comfortable as he gloved a surprise bouncer from Zaheer khan handing a simple catch to sehwag at gully. NZ at 23 for 2 in the 11th over looked like repeating the 60/6 performance in the first test match. In walked Jesse Ryder, Man who restored some respect into the below par performance of NZ in the first test. Both Taylor and Ryder survived a few edges that went flying past the vacant slip corden.

The Turning Point: Who knew the turning point in NZ inning would come so early. Taylor edged a rising Munaf Patel delivery to Yuvraj at third slip, though not at comfortable height the ball carried to Yuvraj's left who only managed to get his fingertips. Taylor survived the over edging 3 genuine delivery over the slips scoring 16 off Munaf's second over.

Taylor continued playing shots but always kept the bowlers hopeful that he would over-reach himself. He edged a lot of deliveries through the slip corden earning NZ team useful runs. Jesse Ryder on the other end continued where he left off scoring boundaries in the most elegant manner reminding of Saurav ganguly. He stood tall and waited till the last moment for the ball to arrive, Width was smacked to the boundary while good legitimate deliveries bowled at the stumps earned respect from his bat. Minutes before lunch he got a thick edge off Harbhajan Singh evaded Karthik and slip and it was the only blemish in an innings that helped get NewZealand back toward steady ground. The Taylor-Ryder stand has so far added 75 and both batsmen appear to have settled.

Post lunch it was all NZ domination, The duo scored runs at a brisk pace with India looking for options to stop the runs and pick some wickets. taylor produced some exciting moments when he wa on 99. He however brought up his 100 from 151 balls to help the hosts to 233-3 at tea. After the break, the pair set the partnership record before Ryder brought up his second Test century, when he guided a Zaheer delivery past backward point for his 14th boundary. taylor got another oppurtunity when he edged a arm blall from Yuvraj singh between the wicket keeper and slip. Dravid was late to react as another catch went down begging. Taylor finally departed trying to whack a harbhajan singh delivery that was bowled well outside the off stump over midwicket ending up skying the ball. Yuvraj singh took a good running catch to dismiss Taylor for 151.

Yuvraj dropped another sitter just before close of play when franklin edged a length ball that was moving away from his body. It went Straight in and came Straight out, A tough day for India on the field more so for Yuvraj who now will have to practice hard fielding in the slips. Jesse Ryder brought up another 100 in partnership with James Franklin to take NZ to 51/4 at stumps. India need to forget whatever happened during the day and clean up the rest of the batting from Newzealand which includes McCullum and Vettori. NZ would on the other hand be feeling happy of what fared out and will hope that the form and momentum stays with the them for the rest of the match.

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India in NewZealand: 2nd Test Preview

India lead the three match Test Series 1-0, and would be looking to seal-the-deal in the second test match to help give the big stars some rest and give chances to players like Rohit Sharma and Praveen Kumar. India should retain the same winning combination while Newzealand will have to make some changes to their squad to give India a fight.Injured players Daniel Flynn and Iain O'Brien have been retained in the New Zealand squad for the second Test against India starting on March 26 in Napier.


However Jamie How has been called up as cover for Flynn who bruised his hand in the first Test. There was no fracture, but the hand was swollen, affecting Flynn's ability to bat.

Off spinner Jeetan Patel returned to the squad after being released to play for Wellington in the State Championship match against Otago where he took 6 for 137. Coach Andy Moles had indicated on Sunday that Patel would play in Napier. Double spin attack should make some difference as Indian batsman in the recent past have gone after slow off spinners and lost wickets. Newzealand will be hoping that this change pays off as the chances of a win look very slim.

Glenn Turner, the head of the selection panel, said Oram was excluded because he was yet to regain full match fitness. "He's only had a couple of days in the domestic competition, and after talking with him we agree he'd benefit from more game time to get up to the fitness level needed for the Test side," Turner said. The only omission from the first Test squad is uncapped bowler Brent Arnel, who was not considered after picking up a side strain during a State Championship match. O'Brien also suffered a side strain during the Test but was hopeful of recovering in the next couple of days.

A lot will depend on the shoulder of Jesse Ryder and Daniel Vettori who scored centuries in the first inning to bail their team out of 60 for 6 to finish at 279 all out. If other batsman play cautiously and around tehm a score of 350-400 can be scored which is defendable and good enough to win a match.

India's downfall could come if they lose some early wickets. The Indian team makes huge scores only when the openers give a good start, Sehwag will be expected to play a fast but long inning. With Sehwag present no score is impossible and given a good batting track, Sehwag will not miss out. Gambhir needs to find some form before the IPL begins on April 18th 2009. Dravid looks to back in his own class specially after he played some of his signature shots including the back foot swipe towards square leg on a full length delivery. Sachin is at the peak of his form and will capitalize on every single opportunity thrown his way. The plight of the NZ bowlers is quite evident when Zaheer Khan brought up his 50 in the first test match.

It looks like a one sided affair unless the NewZealand picks up their game and tries matching up to the quality of Cricket Indians are showcasing. India on the other hands need to stick their feet on the ground and not get carried away like the South African who went on to lose the home series against Australia after beating the world champions on home soil. Match starts 3AM IST tomorrow.

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