Bangalore: A breath-taking knock by New Zealand’s skipper Ross Taylor took the visiting team to 328 for six wickets at the end of the first day of the second Test match between India and New Zealand being played at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium at Bangalore.
Taylor who before the match said that his team needs to attack Indian spinners took matters in his own hands and played a scintillating knock of 113 runs of just 127 runs,
Taylor dominated the Indian bowlers throughout his innngs and hit 16 boundaries and two massive sixes in his innings. He got good support from Martin Guptill (53) and Daniel Flynn (33).
Earlier in the day, New Zealand won the toss and elected to bat first, they had one change in their team bringing in Tim Southee in place of Chris Martin. India on the other hand fielded the same team from the first match.
Unlike the Hyderabad wicket, Bangalore pitch had a bit of grass on the pitch and the overhead conditions would have been a pleasant site for the Indian fast bowlers. Pragyan Ojha opened the bowling attack for India in the second innings of the first Test and yet again Indian captain MS Dhoni trusted the left-arm spinner to do the job.
Zaheer Khan who went wicket-less in the first Test opened the account for India by picking Brendon McCullum’s wicket in his first over. New Zealand after getting off to a disastrous start had a solid second wicket-partnership of 63 runs between Guptill and Kane
Williamson (17). Guptill was attacking in his approach and lofted the spinners over the top whenever an opportunity presented itself. He was helped by a dropped catch from Virat Kohli in third slip when he was in his 20s.
Ojha then got Williamson out with a delivery that held its line. In walked Taylor and the man who failed in both the innings in the Hyderabad Test played the way he best knows. Guptill soon went trying to hit Ojha against the spin.
New Zealand captain good support in Daniel Flynn and together they put 107 runs for the fifth wicket. Taylor was at his aggressive best and at one point had a strike rate of over 100. Taylor kept attacking even after the fall of Flynn’s and James Franklin’s (8) wicket, he completed his seventh ton before the Tea interval.
After the Tea break Ojha trapped Taylor in front of the wicket for his fourth wicket. After the fall of Taylor, wicket-keeper batsman Kruger van Wyk (63*) took the matters in his hands and kept the tempo going. He was particularly effective with the sweep shots of his.
He along with Doug Bracewell (30*) took New Zealand’s score past the 300 mark. Both the batsmen were on the crease before the umpires called the day off in the 82nd over because of bad light.
Brief Score after Day 1:
New Zealand (1st innings): 328/6 in 81.3 overs (Taylor 113, van Wyk 63*, Guptill 53, Ojha 4-90)
By Indian Sports News Network
