WELLINGTON, April 5 (PTI): Gautam Gambhir cracked a fluent 167 as India put themselves on course to a historic series triumph by taking a mammoth 531-run lead in the 3rd and final cricket Test against New Zealand here today.
The left-handed Gambhir notched up his sixth Test century, his second successive one in the series, to power the visitors to a commanding 349 for 5 in their second innings when play was called off a little early because of bad light on the third day. Rahul Dravid (60) and VVS Laxman (61) were the other notable performers as India took complete control of the match with yet another solid batting display.
Yuvraj Singh (15) and captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (16) were at the crease at stumps on Day Three. With two days left in the game, India are the clear favourites to clinch the series 2-0 and record their first Test series triumph on New Zealand soil in 41 years.
As at Napier when he dropped anchor for 642 minutes for a match-saving 137, Gambhir batted close to six hours and was the hub around which the Indian innings revolved. He was involved in two significant partnerships – 170 for the second wicket with Rahul Dravid and 106 with VVS Laxman for the fourth – after India resumed the day at overnight 51 for one in pursuit of their 100th Test win.
With his second century of the series, Gambhir has aggregated a massive 445 runs, clearly ahead of Sachin Tendulkar (344), Rahul Dravid (314) and VVS Laxman (295).
The pugnacious opener, who has garnered an awe-inspiring 1556 runs in 22 innings since making a return to Test cricket in July last year, was finally out trapped in front by Iain O’Brien, operating with the second new ball summoned after 87.1 overs.
New Zealand bowlers had to toil hard without much success on a Basin Reserve track which became easier for batting with not much swing or seam movement. ASSAM TRIBUNE
No comments:
Post a Comment