Second Test, Hyderabad (day one):
New Zealand 258-4 v India
Match scorecard

McIntosh showed superb reserves of concentration

Tim McIntosh batted almost all day to hit his second Test century as New Zealand produced a sturdy 258-4 on day one in the second Test against India.

The Auckland left-hander, 30, became the first New Zealander and 11th man in all to reach three figures immediately after registering a pair (two ducks).

Six overs were left when, troubled by cramp, he pushed Harbhajan Singh to long-on to bring up his ton.

McIntosh put on 147 with Martin Guptill (85) before finally falling for 102.

The duo batted for 46.3 overs either side of lunch after Brendon McCullum had fallen in the fourth over to a good ball that seamed away from him delivered by Sreesanth.

The right-hander got a thin edge through to wicketkeeper Mahendra Dhoni.

Sreesanth celebrated another wicket when Guptill, on five at the time, edged another delivery to Dhoni.

But umpire Kumar Dharmasena consulted the television umpire, as he suspected Sreesanth might have overstepped the crease. The review confirmed it was a no-ball and a mystified, though grateful, Guptill was recalled to the crease from near the boundary rope.

Guptill was batting with great fluency after lunch, comfortably outscoring the more doggedly determined McIntosh.

606: DEBATE Good to see NZ producing some good batsmen. A good NZ is good for cricket. There aren't enough good Test sides out there. MLS

But he paid for an error of judgement when stepping across his stumps to play slow left-armer Pragyan Ojha through the on-side. The ball straightened a fraction to hit him in front of his stumps, and lbw was the verdict.

Ross Taylor, who began his innings just before tea, helped McIntosh add a further 55 to the New Zealand total before playing loosely at a ball swinging away from him from Zaheer Khan, Dhoni accepting another catch.

And tiredness played a part in the eventual dismissal of McIntosh himself, who should have left another Zaheer ball outside off-stump. Instead an inside edge crashed onto his stumps and the new ball had done its job.

There is all to play for after the first match ended in a draw at Ahmedabad where the tourists surprisingly established a winning position late on the fourth day before encountering determined Indian resistance.

The final match of the series follows at Nagpur next week.

E-mail this to a friend

Printable version