Kiwis let off the hook on Day 1

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Kiwis suffered a dramatic top-order collapse in first session before Vettori and Ryder steadied the ship to take the Kiwis to a healthy 279 all out. More... Hamilton Test: Vettori, Ryder lead Kiwi fightback Agencies Posted: Mar 18, 2009 at 0828 hrs IST Hamilton: Riding on a resilient 102-run unbroken seventh-wicket partnership between Jesse Ryder and skipper Daniel Vettori, New Zealand gallantly fought their way back into the first cricket Test against India in Hamilton on Wednesday. Vettori (64) and Ryder (50) struck defiant unbeaten half-centuries and saw off the the second session to lift New Zealand to 162 for six at tea at Seddon Park. The hosts did remarkably well to recover from a disastrous start - they were tottering at 61 for six at lunch - as Vettori led from the front with his 19th half-century. Vettori, and not Ryder, was the dominant partner in the rejuvenating association, which frustrated the Indian bowlers who went flat like beer, after a fizzy first session. With his ebullient captain donning the aggressor's role, Ryder wisely to chose to play second fiddle, piously plodding at deliveries which he would normally slammed out of the park. Vettori slammed nine fours and a six in his 11-ball innings while Ryder helped himself with seven fours. The post-lunch session was frustrating for Indian bowlers but they would be keen to end the day on a high note after their pacers gave them a brilliant start. Earlier, Left-arm seamer Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma bowled with great vigour to leave New Zealand staggering on the ropes at 61 for six at lunch. Invited to bat, the Kiwis lost debutant Martin Guptill (14) and Daniel Flynn (0) in a trice to Khan, who extracted appreciable movement of the grass-laden aisle. Sharma then struck thrice in his second spell to have the batsmen in doldrums. The tall and sinewy quick picked up the scalps of Tim McIntosh, who pottered around for 74 for his 12, Ross Taylor and James Franklin (0) in a jiffy. Munaf Patel, preferred to Laxmipathy Balaji for his ability to move the ball, ejected Brendon McCullum from the square with a ball which left late off the seam, en route to VVS Laxman at second slip. The Kiwis would have probably been in deeper trouble had Virender Sehwag not spilled Ross Taylor at gully, when the number four batsman had yet to open his account in a score of 17 for two. Had Sehwag accepted the offer at gully, it would given Khan his 200 Test wicket. It would have put him in the company of Kapil Dev (434 ) and Javagal Srinath (236), who are the only two Indian fast bowlers to bag 200 wickets or more. Guptill was a picture of confidence on his debut, driving and pulling Sharma with great poise. But a beauty from Khan enticed the tall opener to nick to Rahul Dravid at the third slip, who gobbled up the Kookaburra cherry on second attempt. The catch drew Dravid, playing his 132nd Test, abreast of Mark Waugh's record 181 (128 matches) catches in Test cricket. Daniel Flynn barely last three balls, tickling an inspired Zaheer to Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who did well to latch on to the ball down the leg. New Zealand were gasping for oxygen at this stage, a situation they never recovered from in the first session. It was rather baffling that the Kiwis were done in by their own weapon: swing and seam. Though having played on green tops, he just weren't technically equipped to play the moving ball.

[King Tendulkar]

Healthy 279:haha: Sehwag will get that on his own

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Ishant rues letting Kiwis off the hook Ishant picking up four NZ wickets but was disappointed that the hosts were let off the hook after they were struggling at 61 for six at one stage. More... Ishant rues letting Kiwis off the hook Agencies Posted: Mar 18, 2009 at 1349 hrs IST Hamilton: India's pace bowler Ishant Sharma lived up to the potential, picking up four New Zealand wickets in the first innings but was disappointed that the hosts were let off the hook after they were struggling at 61 for six at one stage on the opening day of the first Test in Hamilton on Wednesday. The hosts found it hard to handle the pace of Ishant and fellow speedster Zaheer Khan, who vindicated skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni's decision to field after winning the toss at Seddon Park. The pace partners accounted for five of the six wickets to fall in the first session with third seamer Munaf Patel picking up the other one. However, with the wicket easing up after the lunch break, success was hard to come by and New Zealand skipper Daniel Vettori (118) teamed up with Jesse Ryder (102) to forge record 186-run partnership for the seventh wicket that steered the hosts to a respectable 279 all out in their first innings. "We wanted to bowl them out for a score under 200. There was something in the wicket for the fast bowlers in the morning. But it went flat in the second session," said Ishant, who returned with figures of four for 73 in his 19.2 overs. The Delhi pacer said there was some assistance for the bowlers in the morning session with the wind at their back. "It was difficult to bowl against the wind. But I did a lot better when I bowled with the wind behind me," Ishant said at the post-match press conference. Asked if India had lost the intensity in the post-lunch session, the 20-year-old bowler said, "We bowled to our plans. We bowled in the right areas. But when the wicket goes flat and the old ball does very little, the job becomes difficult. But we must admit that Vettori and Ryder batted very well."

[coffee_rules]

Aprt from the ZK LBW not given and Dravid's dropping of Vettori, there was no other 'life' given. There were a lot of edges going between slips.

[Ram]

Let off the hook? We’re still on top. On such a good batting surface and fast outfield, we should thank our lucky starts that none of the NZ top order, apart from Ryder, got stuck in. Or else, they would have amassed 450 batting first Dhoni would have looked like a fool for choosing to field. The pitch tamed like a hooded falcon in the sessions after lunch, so we were lucky to make all our breakthroughs in the first session itself. Our batsmen are fully capable of scoring big here in the first innings. If they’re able to negotiate the first session without too much collateral damage, they can definitely feast for the rest of the day. Another good thing is that this new ball is already 7 overs old, which further reduces NZ’s window of opportunity tomorrow. Their only hope of staying competitive in this match is get Sehwag early. If Sehwag stays for one session, we’d probably be around 130-135. If he stays for two, we would almost equaled the Kiwi score. If he stays are for three, NZ can concede the match and we can all go home and sleep.

[swami1984]

Match Reminiscent of Pakistan test in 2006 The way we let them go...reminds me of that match in 2006 when Irfan Pathan took a hat trick and we decimated their top order in the first innings, but Kamran Akmal (with help from Razzaq) hit a century