New Zealand v India, 2nd Test, Wellington

First topic message reminder :

After an exciting first test, the venue now shifts to Wellington for the 2nd test.
India would want to arrest the losing streak away from home. It now stands at 10 out of the last 11. 2 of the last 3 tests India played were classics, but they failed to come out at the right end despite doing some special things, like setting the world number 1 side a target over 450 and then bowling New Zealand out for 105. They would really want to correct that here.
As for New Zealand, this summer has been a good one. The won the test series against the West Indies, nearly whitewashed India in the ODI series, and won the first test as well. They would want to cap the summer with a big moment.
New Zealand will be without their best batsman for this crucial game. Ross Taylor is out on paternity leave, and that gives exciting prospect Tom Latham an opportunity. They are also set to give all-rounder James Neesham an outing on a pitch hat is expected to assist the seamers with spinner Ish Sodhi giving way. That means Kane Williamson has to play the led spinner role besides being the best batsman in Taylor's absence.
Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma and Ishant Sharma, all produced good individual performances in the last test. As such it is unlikely that India would change anything around.

From this mornings scoring rate, i guess BM is going to declare soon to at least try for the win 

Now he's edges it to MSD.

Irrelevant now, he has gone.

But what an innings.


Now go for the win.  And make it exceptionally special.

Linebreaker wrote:

You'd think to be completely safe they would need a lead of around 380... so another 55 runs.
Mac can get his triple... even Neesham could get close to his maiden Test ton. So declare around 625?

625/7...   

Southee joins Neesham at the crease. How many more do you think they'll need to give India a sniff, skye?

Maybe another 22... to take it to 650... and a lead of just over 400 runs?

Linebreaker wrote:

Linebreaker wrote:

You'd think to be completely safe they would need a lead of around 380... so another 55 runs.
Mac can get his triple... even Neesham could get close to his maiden Test ton. So declare around 625?

625/7...   

Southee joins Neesham at the crease. How many more do you think they'll need to give India a sniff, skye?

30 more, put them in. Indians look shot.

India have quick scorers but that should be beyond even them.

I wouldn't declare pound em into the ground I say!

Magnificent innings by McCullum

But India will go for it, make no mistake. But over 5 an over. Never!

They'll want to win though... surely?

As Sunny says, less than 80 overs now to see what they can do. Maybe less if the light deteriorates this afternoon.

I have realised now that BM would never have gone for the 400. Too much like Clarke as a Captain.


He wants the win.

10 more minutes then declare. After nearly seven sessions in the field, India must surely be jaded.

A good shot for. 2-0 if the weather holds.

How a dirty slogger like McCullum has a Test 300 is beyond me...

He's statistically the worst Test player to ever get 300. 

Since 2009 India's bowlers have had 15 individual scores of 200+ scored against them. 

The commentary team in NZ proclaiming McCullum as a genius...really he averages 38. Overrated.

Gerry SA wrote:How a dirty slogger like McCullum has a Test 300 is beyond me...

He's statistically the worst Test player to ever get 300. 

Since 2009 India's bowlers have had 15 individual scores of 200+ scored against them. 

The commentary team in NZ proclaiming McCullum as a genius...really he averages 38. Overrated.

He has never really been rated but i take my hat off to him for the last two Tests.

On his day, he can do it.

NZ leaving it too long now, maybe 15 before lunch.

India bowling Dhawan to try to speed it up 

skyeman wrote:

Gerry SA wrote:How a dirty slogger like McCullum has a Test 300 is beyond me...

He's statistically the worst Test player to ever get 300. 

Since 2009 India's bowlers have had 15 individual scores of 200+ scored against them. 

The commentary team in NZ proclaiming McCullum as a genius...really he averages 38. Overrated.

He has never really been rated but i take my hat off to him for the last two Tests.

On his day, he can do it.

He got dropped 3 times. Innings was hardly of amazing quality. 

Aside from minnow bashing Bangladesh or bullying India, he's a very ordinary Test player.

From 94/5 to 680/8d.  Stunning

Setting India a highly improbable 435 to win from 67 overs.

Neesham 137no. 1st Test.        

BM 302                NZ cricket history.

Gerry SA wrote:

skyeman wrote:

Gerry SA wrote:How a dirty slogger like McCullum has a Test 300 is beyond me...

He's statistically the worst Test player to ever get 300. 

Since 2009 India's bowlers have had 15 individual scores of 200+ scored against them. 

The commentary team in NZ proclaiming McCullum as a genius...really he averages 38. Overrated.

He has never really been rated but i take my hat off to him for the last two Tests.

On his day, he can do it.

He got dropped 3 times. Innings was hardly of amazing quality. 

Aside from minnow bashing Bangladesh or bullying India, he's a very ordinary Test player.

I agree. But a double and a triple in two TM against the No 2 ranked team is still tops.

The question should be. Why is a team ranked number two in the world when they have not won an away Test for FOURTEEN matches.

skyeman wrote:The question should be. Why is a team ranked number two in the world when they have not won an away Test for FOURTEEN matches.

I was gonna ask the same question. 

I think the points allocation needs to be locked at. 

Points for away Test should be worth double.

Oops. England have not won away for TEN

Still deceptive though.

England last 3 series away. W1, D1. L1.

India L3.

The game ends in a dull draw as Virat Kohli's 6th test ton takes India to safety in the 2nd innings after they lost the openers and Pujara rather early. Kohli would still rue the drop of Brendon McCullum on 8.
So 10 losses and no win for India in the last 4 overseas series.

So What do the Indians take away from this series?
Their young, new batting lineup continues to show promise. Shikhar Dhawan has found form and the performances in the 2 tests should make him believe in himself in overseas conditions and the experience should serve him well in the future.
Murali Vijay didn't have a good series in terms of numbers, but he got some real brutes that would have taken out the best of them, and his overall game based on patience and a focus on leaving as much as possible at the start of his innings is grounded on solid foundations and the openers should stay intact.
Cheteshwar Pujara had his first failure in a series since he came back into the test fold in 2012. Though Pujara didn't produce the goods in this series, it doesn't seem to be nothing more than a temporary loss of from from a class player.
Virat Kohli continued to have a good tour, a half-century in the first test and a century here. When will that daddy hundred come though?
Rohit Sharma hasn't convinced many about his overseas credentials, but he scored a half-century in the first test, and in circumstances where he would usually go missing when the side is some trouble after 3 early wickets, he stood with Kohli and help him take India to safety on a flat road of a pitch in the final innings of the series. So he would stay on, hopefully he'll be more consistent in the future.
Ajinkya Rahane produced India's best innings of the series and looked the part throughout. Perhaps he should be moved up to 5 and Sharma moved down to 6?
MS Dhoni at last produced an innings of substance in overseas test after quite some time? He should set the templet of his 68 here as the default for his overseas efforts as he doesn't have a sound defensive game. An aggressive approach won't come off very often, but such an approach has a lot more chances of coming off rather than a defensive one from Dhoni.

Well done New Zealand, brilliant performance

Gerry SA wrote:

skyeman wrote:

Gerry SA wrote:How a dirty slogger like McCullum has a Test 300 is beyond me...

He's statistically the worst Test player to ever get 300. 

Since 2009 India's bowlers have had 15 individual scores of 200+ scored against them. 

The commentary team in NZ proclaiming McCullum as a genius...really he averages 38. Overrated.

He has never really been rated but i take my hat off to him for the last two Tests.

On his day, he can do it.

He got dropped 3 times. Innings was hardly of amazing quality. 

Aside from minnow bashing Bangladesh or bullying India, he's a very ordinary Test player.

I have to agree with Gerry, Indian bowlers and fielders have to be ashamed to let this match slip from their hands, BM really is not a 300 quality but the best part is he took the club level attack and fielders to school.

NZ top 5 really made the match interesting, and I still can't believe how did they got out to Ishant Sharma, may be they wanted to play around with India, really this series is a disaster for Indians, they deserve a 2-0, but good it didn't happen.   

The bowling continues to be the major worrey for India. Ishant Sharma had a very rare good series and Mohammed Shami showed promise in patches. But Zaheer Khan seems to be on his last legs as an international bowler. Zaheer did produce a crucial burst early in the NZ 2nd innings but that was about it, his pace is down a bit on average though he did crank it up to the late 130s at times, but the average pace was down and that made his bowling a lot less effective. Lack of pace is a common thing for the bowlers. Shami was the only one who could hit the 140 mark that too in the early 140s and not regularly enough. Ishant, despite his good showing, wasn't able to come anywhere close to his peak pace. India should find a way to bring in Umesh Yadav into the mix. Should he come in for Zaheer? Ravindra Jadeja kept the runs down and chipped in with a wicket or 2, but he wasn't expected to run through the NZ lineup in these conditions and he didn't even suggest that he was going to surprise anyone in this regard. He was electric in the field though, and his batting is slowly improving. Like Dhoni, he too seems to be banking on an aggressive approach to his batting and that's not a very bad idea. But Jadeja can work a bit more on his defensive game as well so that he could find a better mix.

Gerry SA wrote:How a dirty slogger like McCullum has a Test 300 is beyond me...

He's statistically the worst Test player to ever get 300. Since 2009 India's bowlers have had 15 individual scores of 200+ scored against them. 

The commentary team in NZ proclaiming McCullum as a genius...really he averages 38. Overrated.

But isnt 300 a statistic in itself?

While I agree that Mccullum isn't quite the second coming, I can't begrudge him the triple ton. It came under conditions as difficult as pretty much any triple ton ever. Can't really hold it against a player when they elevate their games and play above themselves when they are desperately needed. Besides, being the worst player to score a triple ton is probably the textbook definition of a backhanded compliment. Like being the dumbest member of Mensa, or the worst performer at Woodstock.

We were ranked last in the test rankings at the start of the summer Gerry. Maybe you're thinking of the top ranked teams in your assessment of BM. We've always been a bit part team with no genuine stars. But if we get contributions from a few players we can compete. Nobody from NZ is claiming BM is a top ranked batsman but from 5 wickets down for less than a hundred his triple saved the series. Nobody is saying NZ now are worldbeaters but I am curious as to why you are so keen to s@@t over our parade. We hadn't won a test in ages. At home we played well albeit against opposition who weren't anywhere near their best. But we've lost to opposition like that as well. Can't you let us celebrate a summer finally worth being positive about. What if your nephew beats you at Monopoly. Do you slap him?   

msp83 wrote:The bowling continues to be the major worrey for India. Ishant Sharma had a very rare good series and Mohammed Shami showed promise in patches. But Zaheer Khan seems to be on his last legs as an international bowler. Zaheer did produce a crucial burst early in the NZ 2nd innings but that was about it, his pace is down a bit on average though he did crank it up to the late 130s at times, but the average pace was down and that made his bowling a lot less effective. Lack of pace is a common thing for the bowlers. Shami was the only one who could hit the 140 mark that too in the early 140s and not regularly enough. Ishant, despite his good showing, wasn't able to come anywhere close to his peak pace. India should find a way to bring in Umesh Yadav into the mix. Should he come in for Zaheer? Ravindra Jadeja kept the runs down and chipped in with a wicket or 2,  but he wasn't expected to run through the NZ lineup in these conditions and he didn't even suggest that he was going to surprise anyone in this regard. He was electric in the field though, and his batting is slowly improving. Like Dhoni, he too seems to be banking on an aggressive approach to his batting and that's not a very bad idea. But Jadeja can work a bit more on his defensive game as well so that he could find a better mix.

Bowling is the symptom and not root cause.

The problem...one and only...is Dhoni.....he doesn't know how to captain overseas....using seam bowlers....PERIOD.

He must be relieved from the misery of test match captaincy immediately

Congratulations my Kiwi mates!  
You deserve double points for beating the No.2 side in this series.  

Some are being a bit harsh on McCullum. To have the mental stamina (he also had a back problem) to grind out 300 runs in a Test match against India (even with their bowling attack) is a considerable achievement. The game seemed as good as over when NZ were effectively 0/5 in their 2nd innings but that was a remarkable fightback from BMc and Neesham yesterday.

Still, it's better to score a big 300 (with a few dropped chances along the way) than to get a cheap ton like Kohli did today after clearly edging it to Watling off Boult when he was on 14... and taking advantage of the Umpire's obvious blunder. I suppose that cancelled out Dharwan's dodgy dismissal though which looked as though it was going over the top of the stumps.

Gerry posting his usual rubbish, I see.

Well done McCullum; fantastic to see a bit of history being made. Neesham looked quite impressive for his debut ton as well.

What a comeback, and what a series win for New Zealand.

Both the Indian and West Indian tours have brought back a lot of interest in cricket here which has to be a good thing for NZ cricket. To bat 300 from 94-5 and facing a loss BM, Watling and Neesham sure stood up with over 500 runs after the 5th wicket. And with Anderson getting the fastest ton in history in the one dayer earlier- overshadowing Ryders 6th fastest, the side must be doing something right with players able to come into the side and perform when it counts.

We showed earlier good signs versus England where we could have got a bit luckier. Looks good for the world cup here and in Oz next year anyway.

I wish I were the worst batsman to get 300 in a test. Wouldn't mind that. Wouldn't mind being the ugliest guy to have nailed Scarlett Johansson either.

BM not a 300 guy? At his scoring rate? The guy has scores 158 no in 75 balls, and bats for over 150 overs. If he learned to stay in and persevere it would have always been on the cards. The extent to which he restrained himself and the situation in which he did this means this was one of the best test innings you'll ever see.

Well done Neesham for staying positive too and scoring quickly-he could have shut up shop and made the both of them very nervous.

He now has one triple and two doubles. Not bad for a number six.

Please please please keep this bowling attack for the England tour my Indian friends!!

Well played NZ, not a bad little core of a side you have there. I like Boult a lot

Stella wrote:He now has one triple and two doubles. Not bad for a number six.

Flat track bully.  

Peter Seabiscuit Wheeler wrote:

Stella wrote:He now has one triple and two doubles. Not bad for a number six.

Flat track bully.  

True. And they have all been against India   

Jacques Kallis' maiden double ton was against India, as was Amla's, and AB's, and Michael Clarke's, and Cooks... I feel like there's a pattern there

I am pretty sure that last time India toured England we had double tons from Cook, Pietersen and Bell in that series. Alongside that even Eoin Morgan scored a century and Bresnan got near one. So would agree about the pattern.

Don't forget Gooch's 333   

So the conclusion is if you badly want a Test double ton or even a triple invite India over for a game!

Taylorman - 500 runs after the fall of the 5th wicket. Can't have been too many instances in Test cricket. Have there, in fact, been ANY?

Pattern:

1. Betting
2. Friendly bowling
3. Coincidence
4. Nice guys

They need to arrange BD away to get that monkey off their backs.

kingraf wrote:Jacques Kallis' maiden double ton was against India, as was Amla's, and AB's, and Michael Clarke's, and Cooks... I feel like there's a pattern there

I was about to post this......a lot of moderately good batsman have made super-scores vs India in recent times.

as I noted in my conclusion.......Dhoni is not cut out for handling seam bowlers as a captain.......he goes to sleep waiting for the last 5 overs to make the charge as he does in limited over....which do not existin a test match,

He simply cannot read and adjust to the script of a test match game involving seamers and foreign conditions

There's no pleasing some people. We should be saluting one of the great rearguard actions, yet some want to belittle McCullum's achievement by explaining the poor Dhoni captaincy and the average bowling.
For Pete's sake. The guy came in at 52-3 which quickly became 94 for 5, still around 140 behind. When he left NZ were in the 600s and on the way to a lead of more than 400.
I wonder what WOULD constitute a decent innings for some.

My comment was in jest?

Great innings considering the circumstance. hats off to the bloke.

I'm totally with Sir Fred on this.

McCullum deserves massive praise for his innings, in particular the concentation and application applied through so many sessions to steer his side away from an almost certain Test defeat and to a series win.

McCullum's success in this Test and the last one do not confirm greatness as to his batting but they do show the folly of some posters rushing to make an overall career judgment based on what he has done before.

honestly, I don't think anyone, except maybe Gerry, is diminishing Mccullum's knock, but when one side has allowed so many players to score double tons in recent history, I think it merits discussion. For example, when Mitchell Johnson was putting the fear of god into the English, he was rightly applauded, but we still discussed why England hadn't scored 400 since the night Jesus turned water into wine

absoutley amazing from McCullum! Anybody who is trying to play down this knock, needs their heads testing...there was no easy slogs or big hitting, it was a proper rear-guard innings and he only reieved support from 2 other batsman, hats off to him and his NZ side.