Cricket Second Test: Visitors left reeling at 128/7 after India stretch their total to 316

Sidney Kiran

Kolkata, Oct 2 (DHNS): Rain, which had been predicted to lash the city during the weekend, showed its face on Saturday and dulled India's march but Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s outstanding performance ensured the hosts had New Zealand under the gun in the second Test here.

Back into the playing XI after warming the bench in the opening Test at Kanpur, the right-arm pacer made his prodigious talent on seaming surfaces speak for itself in telling fashion to put India on track to tighten the noose on the beleaguered Kiwis.

Swinging and seaming the ball beautifully that had the New Zealanders in all sorts of trouble, the 26-year-old -- who claimed his fourth five-wicket haul (5/33) and the first at home —  left the visitors reeling at 128/7 at stumps on day two. Had the rain not cost 111 minutes of play, India -- whose tail led by wicket-keeper Wriddhiman Saha’s 54 not out (85b, 124m, 7x4, 2x6), staged another fine recovery to post 316 all out -- could have been much ahead.

Relishing the prospect of having a short crack at New Zealand just before lunch, both Bhuvneshwar and Mohammad Shami were on the money from the word go. Having watched the Kiwi pacers extract appreciable bounce from the lively pitch that stayed true for the second day running, both the pacers went full tilt.

Shami landed the first blow on New Zealand in the second over itself, trapping left-handed Tom Latham with a fast one that angled in brilliantly. Next over, Bhuvneshwar sent packing the out-of-form Martin Guptill, who in trying to leave the ball ended up elbowing back onto his stumps.

Smelling blood, both Bhuvneshwar and Shami went hard at Kiwis. Full and fast, they were unlucky not to get a couple more, the ball missing the edges by narrow margin on a few occasions.

Having bowled just five overs in total, Shami and Bhuvneshwar resumed their assault on a wounded New Zealand post lunch as well. They bowled with the same fire and discipline, hardly offering the rival batsmen any breathing space. The pressure from both ends worked as Henry Nicholls departed in the seventh over to Bhuvneshwar. With hardly any feet movement, the Kiwi tried to poke at a ball and ended up inside edging onto his stumps as New Zealand stared at a herculean challenge.

Strangely, Shami and Bhuvneshwar then altered their plans, trying to bounce the new pair of Ross Taylor and Luke Ronchi out. The Kiwi batsmen were up to the challenge and fought fire with fire. Every time the ball was banged in, they went for their shots to stage a minor resurrection. And by the time spinners Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin were brought in, they had gained some confidence. With Ashwin appearing a tad out of sorts at the start of his spell, both Ronchi and Taylor looked to build on their start. While Ronchi was the aggressor, Taylor mixed caution with aggression to keep the Kiwis afloat.

Jadeja, however, brought back the smile in the home camp when he trapped Ronchi leg-before. While the ball appeared to be going down the leg on watching replays, umpire Rod Tucker had no hesitation in raising his finger. Jadeja leapt up in joy but even before the celebrations could die, the covers came on as rain beat down the stadium.

The players were confined to the dressing room for nearly two and half hours but Bhuvneshwar and Shami came back roaring after that. Operating in tandem again, they regained their rhythm. Shami was unlucky not to have a couple of strikes next to his name as edges flew but Bhuvneshwar was not to be denied.

With the floodlights on and the pitch looking more threatening, Bhuvneshwar removed a set Taylor (36, 80b, 5x4) with a teasing ball outside the off-stump. He then trapped Mitchell Santner leg-before with a peach, forcing the batsman on the back foot and to his doom. A ball later, he set himself up for a hat-trick after castling Matt Henry. The hat-trick ball was another sizzler but it just missed the bat of Jeetan Patel.

Bad light then halted the charge of Bhuvneshwar but he’ll be gunning for more come Sunday.

score board

INDIA (I Innings, O/n: 239/7):

Dhawan b Henry    1
(10b, 6m)
Vijay c Watling b Henry    9
(29b, 50m, 2x4)
Pujara c Guptill b Wagner    87
(219b, 277m, 17x4)
Kohli c Latham b Boult    9
(28b, 42m, 1x4)
Rahane lbw Patel    77
(157b, 228m, 11x4)
Rohit c Latham b Patel    2
(12b, 23m)
Ashwin lbw Henry    26
(33b, 40m, 4x4)
Saha (not out)    54
(85b, 124m, 7x4, 2x6)
Jadeja c Henry b Wagner    14
(31b, 55m, 1x6)
Bhuvneshwar lbw Santner    5
(11b, 14m, 1x4)
Shami c Henry b Boult    14
(14b, 26m, 3x4)
Extras (B-8, LB-10)    18
Total (all out, 104.5 overs)    316
Fall of wickets: 1-1 (Dhawan), 2-28 (Vijay), 3-46 (Kohli), 4-187 (Pujara), 5-193 (Rohit), 6-200 (Rahane), 7-231 (Ashwin), 8-272 (Jadeja), 9-281 (Bhuvneshwar).
Bowling: Boult 20.5-9-46-2, Henry 20-6-46-3, Wagner 20-5-57-2, Santner 23-5-83-1, Patel 21-3-66-2.

NEW ZEALAND (I Innings):

Guptill b Bhuvneshwar    13
(13b, 13m, 3x4)
Latham lbw Shami    1
(2b, 8m)
Nicholls b Bhuvneshwar    1
(11b, 23m)
Taylor c Vijay b Bhuvneshwar    36
(80b, 105m, 5x4)
Ronchi lbw Jadeja    35
(52b, 71m, 5x4, 1x6)
Santner lbw Bhuvneshwar    11
(20b, 37m, 2x4)
Watling (batting)    12
(17b, 32m, 2x4)
Henry b Bhuvneshwar    0
(1b, 1m)
Patel (batting)    5
(8b, 8m, 1x4)
Extras (B-5, LB-4, W-5)    14
Total (for 7 wkts, 34 overs)    128
Fall of wickets: 1-10 (Latham), 2-18 (Guptill), 3-23 (Nicholls), 4-85 (Ronchi), 5-104 (Taylor), 6-122 (Santner), 7-122 (Henry).
Bowling: Bhuvneshwar Kumar 10-0-33-5, Mohammad Shami 11-0-46-1, Ravindra Jadeja 8-3-17-1, R Ashwin 5-2-23-0.