India is playing with only 4 recognised bowlers, one of whom is Balaji. Could be a long haul for the Indian team.
New Zealand, after day one are in a very strong and commanding position due in main to centuiries from Lou Vincent and Mark Richardson,
NZ 247/1
Richardson not out 102
Vincent 106
Richardson and Vincent torment India](http://uk.cricinfo.com/link_to_database/ARCHIVE/CRICKET_NEWS/2003/OCT/359397_INDNZ2003-04_16OCT2003.html)
Finally, after two and a half sessions of strident resistance, India prised out a wicket. Lou Vincent, batting so sensibly for his second Test century, was out lbw to Anil Kumble. It is always dangerous to sweep a spinner who sends the ball down as fast and flat as Kumble does. When you are attempting the shot to a ball on the stumps, off balance, it is lethal, as Vincent (106, 227 balls, 14 fours, 2 sixes) discovered.
The fall of Vincent’s wicket brought a reluctant smile to Kumble’s face and ended New Zealand’s best Test partnership against India. The 231 that Vincent and Richardson added bettered the 222 that Bert Sutcliffe and John Reid put on for the third wicket at Delhi in 1955-56.
3.30pm New Zealand 224 for 0 (Richardson 89*, Vincent 104*)
Lou Vincent scored just the second century of his 13-Test career, and it was a moment that the whole New Zealand team cheered from their balcony. The knock put New Zealand right on top on the first day. Mark Richardson, on 89 and in sight of a century, might have been the more pleasing to watch of the two batsmen, but it was Vincent (104 not out) who caused the Indians the most pain. New Zealand reached a commanding 224.
Vincent, a forthright batsman, seldom looks pretty. When he used his feet to the spinners his agility and nimble-footedness came to the fore, but otherwise there were few memorable strokes in his innings. But Test cricket, as we know, is not about looking good. Vincent’s technique is a thoroughly effective one and he is not shy to exploit an opening when he sees it. Repeatedly he jammed the bat down hard to send balls in the arc between point and third man.
Richardson’s approach was far more orthodox, and till about an hour after tea he looked in no discomfort. A touch of cramps had him heaving at deliveries he had sedately patted back to the bowler all day. Anil Kumble, used to more success in home Tests, grew visibly frustrated at Vincent’s soft-bat play. It was just one of those days for the Indian bowlers.
Tea New Zealand 168 for 0 (Richardson 62*, Vincent 80*)
There was no joy for India as New Zealand strode to 168 for no loss at tea on the first day. A fine demonstration of disciplined batting by Mark Richardson, on a patient 62, and Lou Vincent, on 80, gave Rahul Dravid plenty to worry about.
Apart from the first hour, which almost gave Zaheer Khan and L Balaji reason to exult there was little that beat Richardson’s dead bat and Vincent’s belligerent strokeplay. In the first hour there was movement off the wicket and in the air and good carry through to the keeper. A probing first spell from Balaji, where he moved the ball both ways, had Richardson and Vincent feeling for deliveries that they would leave alone or defend firmly later in the day. The action-packed first hour, after New Zealand opted to bat, was a refreshing change from the lukewarm cricket at Ahmedabad.
Richardson began the day with a flowing drive that sped across the quick outfield to the long-off fence. Soon, though, he was let off on 10, when Rahul Dravid dropped him at first slip off Zaheer. The ball carried through well, a bit low, but Dravid could not hold on to the chance. Vincent’s jittery moment came when he was beaten by Balaji and struck on the pad in front of the stumps early on. David Shepherd looked long and hard but once again Balaji’s habit of delivering from wide of the crease cost him a wicket.
Following this, the Indians had only one more chance to dislodge a batsman. Richardson paddled Harbhajan in the 32nd over and Dravid’s gentle return to the keeper should have resulted in a run out. Vincent was way out of his crease and yet at that vital moment Parthiv Patel took his eye off the ball and failed to collect it. Vincent certainly accepted the chance and brought up his second consecutive half-century against the Indians by thrashing Harbhajan into the stands at midwicket. That was a rare moment of aggression, understandably, as the need of the hour was consolidation and New Zealand were well upto the task.
After getting well set Vincent repeated the big hit down the ground with success. Such adventurous strokes were made possible only by the solid foundation already in place. For this New Zealand must thank Richardson. Richardson’s straight bat kept the ball out. Into position early and judging the length perfectly, he protected his wicket with minimum fuss. Soon enough the bowlers tired and sprayed the ball onto his pads. Then he made sure they went for runs.
Almost before the Indians knew it Vincent and Richardson had set a record for the highest partnership for New Zealand against India. John Wright, who set the mark alongside Trevor Franklin in Napier in 1989-90, will spend the tea break impressing on India’s bowlers the need to keep their heads up. After all, there is more in this wicket for the bowlers than at Ahmedabad and the New Zealand batting line-up is weakened by the absence of Jacob Oram, out with a calf injury. His absence made way for Ian Butler. India will worry about Butler later. For the moment Dravid, the stand-in captain, is probably wishing Sourav Ganguly had not been ruled due to a groin infection.
Nothing changes for India. No genuine strike bowlers once the shine has worn off the ball and looks like the spinners are producing zilch as well. NZ must have been lifted by surviving the last test match and like SA are coming back strong.
What to expect when your captain calls on Sachin Tendulkar to bowl the 17th over of the 1st innings of the Test. It just tells a lot about Indian bowling strength and Captain's confidence in his bowlers.
Only two results for India in this Test now - Draw or Loss.
I'm glad I didn't pay real money or loose sleep to watch. what a bore!
I feel Test Matches in India have become a farce.....like Hindi film stories....the same routine/sequences repeated ad nauseum.
Either there will be under-prepared pitches, where Kumble and Co. will wreck havoc or there will be placid pitches like the one currently on display at Mohali where any player who can hold a bat fancies his chances to score a century. To make batting still easier for the opposition and themselves, India will pick an extra batsman at the cost of a bowler (I just dont get the logic).
I feel all those fatsos and baldies in the Indian cricket board (which by the way is rolling in money) should drown themselves in the Arabian Sea. Why can't they have one bowler-friendly and lively pitch in the country that has over 20 venues. The story is the same for domestic tournaments.... which does not help to groom fast bowlers......
Who cares anymore about the results of Test Matches in India...
it looks like India will manage to get a draw out of this series at best now - New Zealand are in a strong position now - though they have to cement it. India now surely must know that a win is probably out of the question now - New Zealand will be looking to hit around 500+ in their first innings and then put the Indian batsmen under some real pressure. Not good for Rahul Dravid as far as him being a future skipper of the side - a bad start for him.
By the way interesting to see that in a very dominant day for New Zealand they didn’t make it to 250 in the day and of course looking at the likes of Australia who managed to score 730 in 5 sessions…
…shows how big the gap is at the top between Australia and the rest of the Cricket world.
Agree with some1 and I said earlier that with only 4 bowlers India will struggle. Today when NZ is really set Tendulkar is on its 15th over. Says it all. Why does India need to strengthen its batting with an extra batsmen when they already have such an awesome batting line up?
Maybe your selectors are worse than ours. :)
147.1 Tendulkar to Fleming, OUT: Fleming plays down the wrong line, the ball sneaks in and hits his off stump. Finally, India get a man out before he reaches triple figures.
well this says a lot about India bowling strenght 
lol...today NZ is beating India...502/4 off 168 overs...
New Zealand 536/5 (180.0 ov) Stumps Day 2
NZ didn't show any hint of scoring faster ...... If they don't manage to bowl out India twice (which on this isnt possible anyway i think if India stick to their Task) then we'll head for another Draw ..... I still remember when Bhajji (Harbhajan) said "they (NZ) use to play in Gardens" but here it'll be different or something like that ..... i guess it was sort of warning that the Dry and spinning surface will pose a real threat to NZ (well we saw a hint of it in the 1st Test) ..... but to look now at the scorecard i would like o ask Bhajji whether he still thinks the same way ....
This is going to be a draw. And I agree that with a batting side so strong Indians should have the confidence to pick an extra bowler at home. These type of defensive tactics rarely work.
Ton-up Styris buries hapless India](http://uk.sports.yahoo.com/031017/323/ebem5.html)
MOHALI, India (AFP) - Scott Styris led New Zealand’s run-spree with a career-best 119 in the second and final cricket Test to help the tourists post their highest total against India here.
New Zealand batted through a second consecutive day on Friday to reach 536-5 at stumps and surpass their previous best score of 502 against the Indians, made at Christchurch in 1967-68.
Styris became the third New Zealander in the match to compile a Test-best score after openers Mark Richardson (145) and Lou Vincent (106), eclipsing his previous high of 107 against the West Indies at Grenada last year.
This is only the seventh instance in Test cricket, and the first against India, that the top three batsmen have made centuries in an innings.
Styris cracked two sixes and 10 fours in his second Test hundred and put on 151 for the second wicket with Richardson to strengthen his team’s position.
Craig McMillan also joined the run-feast, scoring an unbeaten 58 for his third successive half-century in the series.
India struggled for wickets for the second day as their seamers and spinners lacked the bite to put pressure on the New Zealand batsmen on an easy-paced track.
Leg-spinner Anil Kumble, who turned 33 on Friday, bagged two wickets but had little reason to smile as he conceded as many as 149 runs.
Off-spinner Harbhajan Singh also failed to strike at the right time despite dismissing Nathan Astle (18) for his 150th Test victim, giving away 131 runs.
India’s catching also left a lot to be desired as they squandered three chances.
Richardson had added just nine runs to his overnight score of 102 when he edged Kumble, but stand-in captain Rahul Dravid reacted too late to latch on to the ball at lone slip.
Dravid, leading India in the absence of the injured Sourav Ganguly, had also let off Richardson on Thursday when the batsman was on 10.
Parthiv Patel had a bad day behind the stumps, conceding 21 byes and also letting off Styris on 118 off part-time bowler Sachin Tendulkar. The batsman fell a run later, trapped leg-before by Kumble.
Astle also had a ‘life’ on nine when he drove Kumble to mid-wicket where debutant Yuvraj Singh made a good diving attempt, but failed to hold the ball.
The Indian bowlers faced a testing time after the tourists had resumed at their overnight score of 247-1.
Harbhajan struck first when he had Richardson caught by Kumble at long-on, but not before the batsman had overtaken his previous best of 143 against Bangladesh at home last year and completed 2,000 Test runs.
Left-handed Richardson struck 19 fours in his marathon 548-minute knock.
India then had to rely on the versatile Tendulkar for their second success after the specialist bowlers failed to deliver.
Tendulkar deceived skipper Stephen Fleming (30) off the wicket and knocked back the off-stump, but New Zealand were already on course for a huge total at that stage.
looks Draw to me unless NZ come out with some exceptional bowling and bowl India out in one day or one day + 1 session which is highly un-likely after looking at the Indian batting lineup.
Oh btw 80% of the atricle's online has following equation
Draw = NZ win
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It’s gone - it’s out of hands - Mark Richardson, Scott Styris and Lou Vincent proved too strong for India - win is out of question - India will have to draw the Test like New Zealand did in the first Test match.
a draw is the best Indians can hope for now - and a draw is more than likely gonna be the end result as New Zealand have gotten to 530 but have now only 3 days left to bowl India out twice.
Sachin Tendulkar finally did something in the series - took a wicket with the ball in his hand - his bowling was also pretty crap in the first Test - 7 overs for 40 with no wicket.
its gonna end all sqaure now unless New Zealand pull out something special with the ball - and don’t forget that’s without Shane Bond.
Dang I can't believe what went wrong - has the Mohali pitch lost it's swing or have our bowlers lost their pace? Pace?? Excuse me...what pace!
How many say Indian famous batting line up will collapse just for the sheer fun of it and give the Kiwis something to really dream about tonight!
50.1 Vettori to Sehwag, one run, turned away to square leg for one, and
that is** Sehwga’s hundred** well played, only 147 balls needed for
it
Well played. :k:
NZ 630/6 Declared
India 203/1
Shewag 128 Not out.
A good day for India with the bat, but one must now wonder where
this game is going, with New Zealand's bowlers struggling to take
wickets as much as India's did earlier. Virender Sehwag hit a classy century, after Craig McMillan completed his earlier in the day, but no other spots of joy for either side.
BCCI has to do something about these lifeless pitches..these kinda pitches kill the test matches..this one is a dodo..
come to think of it...when india toured NZ the tests used to get wrapped up on by the lunch on 3rd day..what a blahdy contrast as here we see dull draws..
Go Sehwag! Let's get a doubleton but whatever you do, don't slow down. The game is boring enough with everyone else playing strategy...