[1]Hyderabad, Nov. 16: Not for nothing do they call him Bazooka in cricket circles. Brendon ‘Baz’ McCullum lived up to his nickname to blast a double century that battered India as New Zealand scored brownie points in the drawn second Test here on Tuesday.
It was a traumatic Tuesday for Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his men, whose plans to make a match of the game with a bowler less (Zaheer Khan could send down only three overs before aggravating an abdominal strain) were foiled by the Kiwis who scored 448/8 declared in their second innings, thanks to McCullum’s 225 (308 balls, 22x4, 4x6).
Captain Daniel Vettori then threw the hosts a cheeky challenge, that of getting 327 in just 30 overs — it would have needed a top of the line Twenty20 effort-and-a-half including the application of power plays to get there. India reached 68/0 in 17 overs before the captains agreed for a draw and play was called off one hour before scheduled close.
The match belonged to New Zealand’s openers. If Tim McIntosh became the first to score a Test century at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium on Day One, McCullum decided to double the effort on the last day. It was an open and shut case.
Resuming at his overnight 124, McCullum was a man with a mission on Tuesday. He quickly settled into rhythm. A sharp square cut off seamer Sreesanth that sped to the fence was a pointer to India’s upcoming agony — bleed.
McCullum played with authority. First, he hit Harbhajan for a six. Later, his confident reverse sweeps turned reverse hits as the sturdy batsman began to pack them with power.
McCullum, who shot to fame with a blistering 158 (10x4, 13x6) for the Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL’s inaugural match in 2008, brought up his double century in Twenty20 style — a smashed six off Ojha took him to 195 and a couple of singles later, a precarious paddle scoop over wicketkeeper Dhoni off Suresh Raina signalled the cherished milestone.
Soon, McCullum hit Sreesanth for two successive boundaries and was surely in the mood for many, going for which he lost his wicket.
The spirit may have been willing but McCullum’s flesh was certainly weak after nine hours of batting.
Raina wrapped his fingers safely around the ball that had rocketed vertically in the air as he attempted a wild one away from his body. By then, McCullum had provided the Kiwis enough psychological advantage, so essential in Test match cricket, ahead of the last game in Nagpur beginning on Saturday.
Kane Williamson proved an able foil as he contributed 69 in a 121-run partnership with McCullum before being wrongly given out leg before by umpire Simon Taufel, who took a long while before raising his finger to uphold the appeal even as Bhajji’s delivery had struck the batsman’s pads high, and wide.
At the other end, Gareth Hopkins was let off by Kumar Dharmasena, who turned down a vociferous leg before wicket appeal to deny Sreesanth a wicket.
Pic Caption:
New Zealand’s Brendon McCullum celebrates after reaching his double hundred on the fifth and final day of the second Test against India in Hyderabad on Tuesday. The match ended in a draw.
Scoreboard
New Zealand 1st innings 350
India 1st innings 472
New Zealand 2nd innings
(overnight 237/4)
T. McIntosh c sub (Pujara) b Ojha 49, B. McCullum c Raina b Sreesanth 225, M. Guptill c Dhoni b Ojha 18, R. Taylor b Sreesanth 7, J. Ryder c Dhoni b Raina 20, K. Williamson lbw b Harbhajan 69, D. Vettori c Dravid b Raina 23, G. Hopkins not out 11, T. Southee b Sreesanth 11, B. Arnel not out 1
Extras: (b4, lb3, nb5, w2) 14
TOTAL: (135 overs) 448/8 decl.
FoW: 1-125, 2-174, 3-187, 4-221, 5-345, 6-396, 7-431, 8-447.
Bowling: Zaheer 7.3-1-21-0, Sreesanth 27-5-121-3, Ojha 47.3-14-137-2, Harbhajan Singh 38-3-117-1, Tendulkar 2-0-7-0, Raina 13-2-38-2.
India 2nd innings
G. Gambhir not out 14, V. Sehwag not out 54
TOTAL: (in 17 overs) 68/0
Bowling: Southee 4-0-11-0, Arnel 5-1-11-0, Guptill 5-0-33-0, Taylor 3-0-13-0.
Links:
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