Bangalore, Sep 1 (IANS) India barely survived a tricky session to make 63/2 at lunch in response to New Zealand’s impressive first innings total of 365 on the second day of the second Test here Saturday.
After the Kiwis folded up in quick time first thing in the morning, Indian batsmen looked anything but assured against seam attack in which Tim Southee stood out by claiming opener Gautam Gambhir (2) and Cheteshwar Pujara (9) before Virender Sehwag (39) and Sachin Tendulkar (4) held firm.
India did well to wrap up the Kiwi tail with left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha claiming five wickets while Zaheer Khan had a hand in two dismissals, one of them being a run out. Umesh Yadav also picked up a wicket.
Thereafter, the Kiwi new-ball bowlers, Southee and Trent Boult, troubled the Indian batsmen with movement and hostility as Gambhir saw the off bail removed.
Boult was unlucky not to have Gambhir caught in the slips where Brendon McCullum grassed a sitter, but the lapse did not prove costly.
Pujara, centurion in Hyderabad, was tricked into hooking a short ball down Boult’s throat at square-leg.
Sehwag played a typical innings full of slashes, edges and authentic shots while Tendulkar took his time to settle down and seemed intent on playing to lunch.
Earlier, the New Zealand innings, overnight 328/6, lasted just 44 minutes and 8.4 overs in the morning as the Indians mopped up the tail without much fuss.
Kruger van Wyk (71) was the first to go, edging a drive off Zaheer to Suresh Raina at slips to end a 99-run partnership with Doug Bracewell for the seventh wicket.
Bracewell followed soon after, backing up too far as a drive by Southee brushed Zaheer’s fingers and crashed into the stumps for a run out decision.
Jeetan Patel lasted a mere two deliveries, slashing Umesh Yadav to third man where Gambhir took a fine catch.
The Kiwi innings ended when Southee became Ojha’s fifth victim, trapped in front in the ninth over of the day that began half-hour ahead of schedule to make up for the time lost Friday evening due to bad light.
