Nagpur, Nov 22: Rahul Dravid and MS Dhoni steered India to a position of complete control on the third day of the Nagpur Test. Dravid played a big innings, of 191 runs, while Dhoni’s brisk 98 runs gave India a whopping 373-run lead as India declared their first innings at 566/8. New Zealand, in reply, were 24 for one at stumps.
Earlier, cricket fans making their way to the Jamtha Stadium in Nagpur were left seriously disappointed after Sachin Tendulkar, batting with the prospect of reaching his 50th Test century, was dismissed by Andy McKay after adding just four runs to his overnight score of 57. VVS Laxman (12) then got a delivery from Chris Martin that swung in sharply and left his stumps shattered. Suresh Raina, already under pressure for some ordinary performances in this series, too didn’t stay for very long, the southpaw handing a catch to substitute Brian Watling at short-leg off the first ball of the day from Daniel Vettori. From 292 for 2 at the start of the day’s play, India had very quickly slid to 326-5 and at that stage it appeared that New Zealand would be able to limit the extent of the Indian lead.
But Dravid, determined to keep the Kiwis at bay, found an able accomplice in MS Dhoni and the two battled on, in contrasting styles, to further India’s dominant position in the Test match. The pair put on 193 runs for the sixth wicket, with Dhoni’s 98-run contribution marginally outscoring Dravid’s 88 runs in that partnership.
Dhoni fell just two short of a century, with the Indian score at 521, caught off Vettori’s own bowling. Dravid who needed 202 runs at the start of his innings to surpass Brian Lara’s tally of 11953 runs in Test cricket, perished not very much later to Kane Williamson, at an individual score of 191, with the Indian score at 549-7. India finally declared their innings at 566 for the loss of eight wickets, a total which put them 373 runs ahead of New Zealand’s first innings score.
New Zealand require to bat out a little over six sessions if they are to draw this Test, but with Harbhajan Singh trapping TimMcIntosh LBW, before the close of the day’s play, the chances of that happening are next to impossible.
Brief Scores – New Zealand 1st innings 193 (Jesse Ryder 59, Ishant Sharma 4-43) and New Zealand 2nd innings 24/1 (Brendon McCullum 15*, Harbhajan Singh 1-9); India 1st innings 566/8 decl. (Rahul Dravid 191, MS Dhoni 98, Daniel Vettori 3-178)
