Srinath, Ramesh, Gandhi bring India back on course

The New Zealand batsmen, Stephen Fleming and Nathan Astle, were introduced to the bowling of Venkatesh Prasad and Sunil Joshi in the morning. The wicket had eased out considerably and batting wasn’t difficult. All ingredients pointed to a huge New Zealand total.

A sparse crowd at the stadium must have been wondering why Srinath was held back by the captain. He was finally tossed the ball 35 minutes into the morning. After that, there was no looking back for India.

Stephen Fleming was the first, Daniel Vettori the last of his four wickets today. His final figures read 6 for 45. It was only the sixth time in his 39-Test career that Srinath had taken five or more wickets, underlining the fact that this genuinely quick and hostile bowler has not done full justice to his talent so far.

The wicket did not have the juice in it which saw the New Zealand pacemen make the Indians hop yesterday. But Srinath steamed in with fire and bowled quick and with purpose, seaming the ball both ways.

The sight of Srinath releasing the ball with energy and skill did wonders to India’s morale. At the other end Joshi foxed McMillan with an armer. Prasad too returned to bowl with far greater control. The New Zealand innings was brought to a swift end, for 215. It was a poor response, considering that at one stage they were cruising towards a lead in excess of 200. Instead India were left to wipe out a deficit of 132.

The batsmen must have fancied their chances as the wicket, except for the odd ball keeping low or the odd one flying, wasn’t offering much help. Both Ramesh and Gandhi applied themselves well, with Gandhi showing fine temperament and not allowing himself to be burdened by the first innings failure.

Runs came quite easily and Fleming was soon handing the ball to his only spinner, left armer Daniel Vettori. It was a psychological victory for the two openers. Luck too was on the Indian side as Ramesh, though timing the ball as well as he usually does, edged a couple very close to the fielders. When on 42, he was let off in the slips, when Fleming floored a regulation catch.

With all indications of spin likely to play a vital role in the remainder of the match, the home team could well be seeing visions of a dramatic win. For the moment, the hosts have restored the balance. The fate of the match depends on how they bat tomorrow. They have to see off the seamers without much damage in the morning, a time when this wicket has offered hope to the pacers.

SCOREBOARD

India (1st innings): 83

New Zealand (1st innings)

M Horne c Ganguly b Srinath (1×4, 30m, 27b) 6

M Bell b Srinath 0 (12m, 4b)

C Spearman c & b Kumble 51 (7×4, 154m, 122b)

S Fleming lbw Srinath 43 (3×4, 212m, 147b)

N Astle c Kumble b Srinath 45 (6×4, 96m, 75b)

B McMillan lbw Joshi 22 (3×4, 25m, 26b)

A Parore not out 13 (1×4, 106m, 39b)

C Cairns b Prasad 7 (38m, 22b)

D Nash c MSK Prasad b Srinath 2 (38m, 33b)

D Vettori b Srinath 0 (9m, 5b)

S O’Connor c Gandhi b Bhardawaj 2 (10m, 15b)

Extras (b5, lb11, nb8): 24

Total 215

Fall of wickets: 1-7 (Bell), 2-8 (Horne), 3-99 (Spearman), 4-156 (Fleming), 5-179 (Astle), 6-181 (McMillan), 7-199 (Cairns), 8-207 (Nash), 9-212 (Vettori)

Bowling: Srinath 22-9-45-6, Prasad 19-6-56-1, Ganguly 1-0-1-0, Kumble 18-3-49-1, Bhardawaj 14.1-4-26-1, Joshi 17-8-22-1

India (2nd innings)

D Gandhi batting 52 (4×4, 193m, 138b)

S Ramesh batting 58 (7×4, 193m, 166b)

Extras (lb1, nb4) 5

Total (for no loss) 115

Bowling: Cairns 9-1-35-0, Nash 12-4-30-0, Vettori 24-4-38-0, O’Connor 3-1-6-0, Astle 6-2-5-0