There had been nothing for the Kiwis to get excited about for four hours,until then. And as he struck MS Dhoni who had walked down the wicket on the pads,Tim Southee couldnt help but let out the most vociferous appeal of the day. The confident shout,however,soon turned into a desperate plead. On his knees in the middle of the pitch,the Southee resembled the proverbial child imploring for that elusive lollipop. Southees demonstrative cry,in many ways,symbolised the kind of day that the visitors experienced. After starting off in high spirits with three early wickets,including that of Sachin Tendulkar dashing a billion hopes along the way the Black Caps just plunged deeper into distress as the third day wore on. And by stumps,the Kiwis were left with a near insurmountable hurdle to cross in order to survive in the final Test. Dhoni lasted only a further seven balls after the Southee appeal caught and bowled by Daniel Vettori for 98 to miss out on his fifth Test ton. By then though,the Indian skipper had in the company of Rahul Dravid,who finished on 191,battered the Kiwis into submission and taken India to a mightily convincing position in order to clinch the three-match series in thorough fashion. New Zealand received a fillip early in the piece,with Andy McKay playing party-pooper. The debutant left-arm seamer became the umpteenth bowler in world cricket to list Tendulkar who fell 39 short of the elusive 50th ton as his first victim in Test cricket. Chris Martin then got through the defenses of VVS Laxman,before Suresh Rainas struggle continued,falling prey to Vettoris unyielding guile for three. Keen to regain his own form,Dhoni employed a rather counter-attacking strategy to commence his innings,hitting Southee for three fours in an over. Amidst the ruckus,Dravid stood true to his much-publicised nickname,carrying on with his job unwaveringly at the other end. Over the years,many a NZ attack has been subject to the difficult task of breaking down his stoic resistance,while Dravid grinds them down in his customary manner. Vettori & Co had tried and failed in the first Test at Ahmedabad,and they had no answers this time around either,as Dravid cruised to his 31st Test ton,and sixth against NZ. Though he scored mainly by placing the ball in the gaps for singles and twos,every once in a while,Dravid also executed typically graceful boundaries to every part of the ground,with the on-side receiving preferential treatment. Apart from being stuck on 87 for almost 30 balls,not once did the Kiwi bowlers pose too serious a threat to him. Dhoni,however,rode his luck and attacked both pace and spin,as the duo put on 193 for the sixth wicket. Dravid,unfortunately,fell nine runs short of his sixth double-ton,but not before ensuring that India ended up with a massive lead of 373 runs. And by stumps,India had taken a step closer to victory,with Harbhajan getting rid off opener Tim McIntosh,as the Kiwis finished at 24 Late in the day,night-watchman Gareth Hopkins got a taste of the pressure that the visitors will be put under,being surrounded by seven close-in fielders. Though the wicket-keeper did survive,the Kiwis will have to better all that they have achieved on this tour so far,in order to even push the contest into the fifth day.
