Cricket
Kohli leads India fight back
2012-09-01 14:10
Virat Kohli (Action Images)
|
Bangalore - Virat Kohli cracked an impressive 93
not out to lead an Indian recovery on the second day of the second and
final Test against New Zealand in Bangalore on Saturday.
The
23-year-old hit one six and 12 fours in his second successive Test
half-century as the hosts, struggling at 80-4 at one stage, reached
283-5 in their first innings at stumps in reply to New Zealand's 365.
Kohli,
who made 58 in the last Test, added 99 for the fifth wicket with Suresh
Raina (55) and 104 for the unfinished sixth-wicket stand with Mahendra
Singh Dhoni (46 not out) to keep alive his team's hopes of gaining the
lead.
India now trail by 82 runs with five wickets in hand.
Dhoni,
who scored 73 in the opening Test, hit off-spinner Jeetan Patel for two
successive sixes over wide long-on and mid-wicket in his 70-ball knock
which also contained five fours.
India, who won the opening Test
by an innings and 115 runs, lost experienced Virender Sehwag (43),
Gautam Gambhir (two) and Sachin Tendulkar (17) before Kohli, Raina and
Dhoni propped up the innings.
New Zealand's pacemen bowled well to
keep pressure on India, with Tim Southee finishing the day with 3-35
and Doug Bracewell with 2-66.
Raina, trying to cement his place in
the middle order, was caught by wicket-keeper Kruger van Wyk down the
leg-side off Southee after hitting one six and nine fours in his seventh
Test half-century.
Stumped off a Patel no-ball when on 48, Raina
counter-attacked to ease the pressure as he hit Bracewell for three
successive fours and then smashed Southee for two boundaries in an over.
Southee
removed opener Gambhir and Cheteshwar Pujara (nine) in his sharp
opening spell in the morning, while Bracewell dismissed Sehwag and
Tendulkar in his successive overs after lunch.
Gambhir, dropped on
one by Brendon McCullum in the slips off paceman Trent Boult, failed to
make the most of the chance as he was bowled offering no stroke to a
delivery that came in.
Pujara, who scored a solid 159 in the last Test, was caught by Boult at long leg while hooking.
Opener
Sehwag fell immediately after hitting Bracewell for a four in the
opening over of the afternoon session, caught by Daniel Flynn at short
mid-wicket. He cracked eight fours in his 60-ball knock.
Bracewell then got a big wicket in his next over when he bowled Tendulkar to put more pressure on the hosts.
India's
left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha earlier finished with 5-99, his third
haul of five or more wickets in a Test innings, as New Zealand added 37
runs in 8.4 overs to their overnight total of 328-6.
Fast bowler Zaheer Khan was the first to strike when he had van Wyk (71) caught by Raina in the slips.
The
New Zealand wicket-keeper added just eight runs to his overnight score
of 63. He cracked nine fours in his maiden Test half-century and added
99 runs for the seventh wicket with Bracewell (43).
Bracewell, who was unbeaten on 30 on Friday, was run out after scoring 13 runs in the morning.