Sachin Tendulkar, once again, gave his wicket to a debutant today. Does he try to inspire the newcomers by gifting his wicket away to them? Maybe this is his blessings to the youngsters in the cricketing world. Whatever it is, his early dismissal combined with a rare Laxman dismissal and a quick Raina exit put the Indians on the back-foot.
But, Rahul Dravid was not to be denied. Everyone in the recent past (including yours truly) has asked for his career to be brought to an early exit. "The Wall" did not think so. He was steady at the crease and ensured that with MS Dhoni, he would take the Indians to a large lead over NZ. Dhoni, playing his natural game, got to a near-century and kept the scorecard ticking. The selectors have agreed to his request for rest and this must have made him think freshly !!
New Zealand has, so far in this test match, won only half a session - the one where they took 3 quick wickets. Other than this, the 8.5 sessions have been won by the Indians. Looking forward, the NZ team should look at how the Indians did occupy the crease for 2 days in Napier and follow their example. But, the task is very huge - the ball is spinning and turning now. Only a rain can surely save the test series loss to NZ, not the batsmen.
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