|
 Ahmedabad,
Oct 8: Rahul Dravid struck a classic unbeaten century as India
recovered from mid-innings jolts to reach a comfortable 249 for
three on the opening day of the first cricket Test against New
Zealand here today. It was a slow and steady progress for the
Indians but for the post-lunch session when they lost debutant
opener Akash Chopra (42) and batting star Sachin Tendulkar for
eight. Though runs were not exactly flowing, the Indian batsmen gave
a vent to their penchant for stroke-making in patches with Dravid
hitting as many as 13 fours in 110-run knock and Laxman unleashing
six boundaries for his unbeaten 56 after skipper Sourav Ganguly won
the toss and elected to bat on a placid wicket.
Dravid, who came in
when the team's score read 35 for one, played the sheet anchor role
to perfection, adding 115 vital runs for the unfinished fourth
wicket with the stylish Laxman. The Kiwis, who came into the Test
with the intention of setting the records straight and winning their
first ever Test series win in India, were successful to some extent
in restraining the fancied Indian batting line-up but they let go
the initiative in the final session when they toiled without
success. The final session proved to be the most productive for
India with Dravid and Laxman negotiating the pace-spin attack with
ease and elan to add 100 runs to the total.
Having scored
centuries in the Irani Cup and the Challenger Trophy in the lead-up
to this Test, the Indian vice-captain settled into a rhythm early
and was rewarded for his patience when he reached his 15th Test
century with a four off speedster Daryl Tuffey. Dravid,
surprisingly, scored most of his runs on the offside and executed
his drives with near perfection. His 100 came off 211 balls with the
help of 12 fours. A prolific scorer in the last season as well,
Dravid seems to have struck the right note at the start of the fresh
cricket season and has now 5,717 Test runs to his credit. Laxman,
dropped from the one-day team after India's tour of New Zealand in
December-January, also took a cue from 'The Wall' and had hit six
fours for his unbeaten 56.
The Indian innings,
which was cruising at 76 for one at lunch, suddenly found itself in
disarray when debutant Chopra and Tendulkar returned to the pavilion
in quick succession. Reduced to a shaky 134 for three, things did
not exactly look bright for the Indians but the ever-dependable
Dravid combined with Laxman to arrest the slide. It was Chopra who
was the first wicket to fall in the post-lunch session. Though it
did not turn out to be a very impressive debut for the Delhi opener,
Chopra did show some promise during his 42-run knock, weathering the
blows and early onslaught of a raw new-ball attack comprising Tuffey
and Jacob Oram with patience and determination.
The right-hander
played with a straight bat to most of the deliveries and it was no
surprise that he took as many as 116 balls to score his runs with
four boundaries to his credit. Chopra's patience finally gave away
when he was caught and bowled by left-arm spinner Daniel Vettori. A
bigger disappointment was in store for Indian fans when Tendulkar,
playing his first match since a finger operation after the World
Cup, was caught in the slips by Nathan Astle off medium pacer Scott
Styris. The batting maestro perished to an uncharacteristically poor
stroke, fishing to a wide outside the off-stump delivery and paid
the price for it.
Another talented
batsman who was left rueing the missed opportunity to score some big
runs against a mediocre attack was Virender Sehwag. Under the
scanner for throwing his wicket in reckless fashion, Sehwag was
expected to play a patient knock to drive home the point that he had
ironed out this weakness of his but he once again was guilty of
being over-ambitious. The Delhi Ranji captain got a reprieve early
on in his 29-run knock when Craig McMillan failed to latch on to a
difficult chance off paceman Daryl Tuffey to concede a six, the only
one of the innings, but Sehwag failed to make the most of it.
 Though
the decision of umpire David Shepherd to adjudge Sehwag leg before
wicket off Tuffey was dubious as the ball looked like missing the
leg stump, there was no denying that Sehwag found it difficult to
curb his natural aggressive skills -- he had hit three fours and a
six already in his 32-ball innings. But making up for the lapses was
the determined duo of Dravid and Laxman. Dravid was the more
dominant partner and in fact the best two shots of the day were
played by Dravid when he cover drove Jacob Oram for two boundaries
in his first over with the new ball which was taken after 80 overs.
He reached his three-figure mark with a magnificent cover drive off
new ball bowler Daryel Tuffey.
Earlier, India went
into the first of the two-Test series with two debutants in Chopra
and Tamil Nadu paceman L Balaji while the Kiwis included two
spinners in Vettori and Paul Wiseman. Scorecard
(Agencies)
Published: Wednesday, October 08, 2003
|
