Watch India Vs New Zealand 1st Test Day 2 Live Streaming, Live online, Online streaming, India vs New Zealand Live Streaming
Fri, March 19th, 2009
11:00 local, 22:00 GMT
Seddon Park, Hamilton
Day: Day 2
Live Stream: sopcast Link
India
vs
New Zealand
Watch India vs New Zealand 1st Test Day 2 live streaming
Superb hundreds from Daniel Vettori and Jesse Ryder dragged New Zealand from the depths of 60 for 6 to a relatively respectable 279 on a well-grassed but true pitch at Seddon Park. By stumps, India had knocked off 29 with Virender Sehwag looking in ominously good touch. India dominated the first session and the final hour, but the defiant 186-run stand, a record for the seventh wicket for New Zealand against India, could still be pivotal to the outcome of the match. The rest of the batsmen contributed next to nothing, while India’s three seamers took all but one of the wickets to fall.
Today, in scoring his third century, and the first as captain, he showed qualities that a top-order batsman would have been proud of. Soft hands were the first of them. Even when the fast bowlers induced edges, they fell short of the slips, much to the frustration of the bowler and fielders. That is where Vettori was different from the McIntoshes and the Guptills. Slowly he came to terms with the pitch, and started working his wrists around.
Vettori has the ability to shape up for a drive, and then use his wrists to direct the ball square on the off side, straight down the pitch, or into the on side. Three boundaries in three overs in the middle of the innings highlighted that ability. First, Munaf was driven wide of mid-on; in the next over he drove straight and again beat the same fielder. Then, he reached out for a drive against Harbhajan Singh, found the delivery too wide, and rolled the wrists on it, keeping the ball along the ground and beating the point fielder.
By the time Vettori had got out, he had scored a century that only vindicates his batting potential. But there was unfinished business for Ryder. A superb season so far needed a defining milestone, one that would confirm his coming of age. Ryder’s century didn’t come without drama. From 77 to 98 he moved in Iain O’Brien’s company, and scored the next four in the unreliable company of Chris Martin.
He reached the century with a short-arm pull, with a spread-out field, showing how strong those wrists and forearms are. Today, along with Vettori, they carried New Zealand and kept them in the match.
