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 Indian bowlers made amends for the inept display by the batsmen as the visitors clawed back into the match with late strikes to reduce New Zealand to 201 for seven on a truncated second day of the first Test here today. The hosts were cruising along comfortably at 181 for three before the Indians staged a comeback of sorts with four dismissals in quick succession in the extended last session of play though Mark Richardson held one end up with a disciplined unbeaten 83. Left arm pacer Zaheer Khan (3 for 42), offie Harbhajan Singh (2/22) and Sanjay Bangar (2/23) struck crucial blows to keep the Indians in the game after overnight rains wiped out the entire morning session. Opener Richardson played cautiously to remain unconquered after facing 221 balls while Daniel Vettori was yet to open his account at stumps as New Zealand gained a 40-run first innings lead on a Basin Reserve pitch which has eased out quite a bit. Resuming at their overnight score of 53 for one, the hosts seemed to tighten their grip on the match as Richardson and captain Stephen Fleming negotiated the Indian attack confidently and took the score to 92 for one at tea.
But the complexion of the game changed rapidly after the break as the visitors sent back Fleming (25) and the dangerous Craig McMillan (O) in the span of three overs to make inroads into the inexperienced middle order. The combined attack of Zaheer and Harbhajan, which came only in the last hour, puzzled the New Zealand batsmen and the hosts' batting suddenly looked vulnerable. New Zealand seemed poised for a big lead, with Richardson intent on batting through the day, before Indians struck back with four wickets conceding only 22 runs in the final hour. In between the two strikes by Zaheer Khan-Nathan Astle and wicketkeeper Robert Hart-Harbhajan Singh discounted all theories about it being a seamers' pitch when he scalped Scott Styris and debutant Jacob Oram both for nought. After New Zealand lost two quick wickets at the beginning of the last session, Astle (41) helped Richardson put on 70 runs for the fourth wicket. The stand was looking really dangerous with a set Richardson and Astle beginning to open up.
 But Zaheer struck at the right moment surprising Astle by a lifting delivery and the batsman spooned a simple catch to Harbhajan in the covers while taking evasive action. Harbhajan, who was held back by Sourav Ganguly till the 54th over, then foxed Styris with a drifter with Parthiv Patel effecting a smart stumping and shortly afterwards trapped Oram leg before wicket. Encouraged by the sudden turnaround, Ganguly brought back Zaheer in the penultimate over and the left-arm paceman closed the day with the scalp of wicketkeeper Robert Hart (6) who had looked obdurate and determined to last the day without any further loss. India could have been in a much better position had V V S Laxman held on to a straight forward catch of Richardson off Ajit Agarkar at second slip when the batsman was on 63. Though annoyed at his mistake, the left-hander drove the very next ball to the long-off fence. After completing a run, he furiously rehearsed the shot and the bat flew off his hand but fell safely in no-man’s land as everyone watched in amusement. The letdown by the fielder seemed to have affected Agarkar as he conceded 13 runs in his next two overs before Ganguly took off his ineffective third
seamer.
 Richardson, a cricketer who reinvented himself as an opener after starting as an off-spinner, showed remarkable judgment and perseverance in holding to his end through the curtailed day. He appeared a limited stroke-maker but there were often enough gaps in the field for him to keep ticking over and has so far hit 10 fours when play ended past 7 p m local time. Earlier in the day, nearly four hours of play was lost because of overnight rain which didn’t damage the square but left the outfield spongy. New Zealand, resuming at 53 for one, seemed in no trouble when play finally got underway in bright sunlight as Richardson and Fleming adopted a positive attitude. Fleming didn’t look a batsman who had collected a pair in a domestic game before the Test as he showed good footwork and wasn’t afraid to have a go at drivable deliveries. The two took the total to 96, a second wicket partnership of 66 runs, before Fleming was cleaned up by a beautiful delivery from Zaheer Khan which left him a shade and hit his pad on way to clipping the bails.
Fleming batted for 114 minutes and hit three fours from 71 balls for his 25 runs. India met with another success immediately when McMillan (9) was ruled lbw to Bangar.
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