March 19 2009 20:35 PST
Sachin Tendulkar passed new milestones in his 157-Test career on Thursday, posting his 52nd half-century and becoming the second most-capped player in history as India reached 278 for four on the second day of the series-opening match against New Zealand in Hamilton, New Zealand.
Sachin Tendulkar scored an unbeaten 70 to clinch this honor. His score of 157 is now second all-time in Test play, moving past Allan Border's 156 and moving closer to Stephen Waugh's all-time record of 168.
Gautam Gambhir made 72, Rahul Dravid 66 and V.V.S.Laxman 30 in an Indian batting performance which was steady but which never entirely crushed the resistance of the New Zealand team as they kept it competitive as there's still plenty of cricket left to be played. The 105-run second-wicket between the duo of Gambhir and Dravid was the largest on a day on which India added 249 runs for four wickets in 83.5 overs. Bad lighting caused the event to be called off for the day and weather wise there was a 15 minute rain delay that halted the proceedings for a bit.
Gambhir and Virender Sehwag put on 37 for the first wicket, Dravid and Tendulkar 35 for the third, Tendulkar and Laxman 61 for the fourth and Yuvraj Singh had added 60 with Tendulkar for the fifth by stumps. The onslaught seemed to be continuing, but New Zealand's seam-based bowling attack persevered, shutting down India's run production and preventing any two-man attack from becoming overwhelming, effectively keeping themselves in contention.
"I think we stuck to it pretty well," said New Zealand paceman Chris Martin, who ended the day with two for 53 from 20 overs. "I think the surface is (worth) a little bit more than three runs per over so we were pretty happy with containment and maybe (could have had) a couple more wickets if we'd taken our catches.
Chris Martin also felt the Indian team played them as fairly as you could but definitely had a fortuitious bounce here and there. "I think they played us with a bit of respect. Most of their guys, apart from Sehwag, respect a good ball so we were glad to see him go early. We had to watch Tenedulkar but he was also riding his luck at times," he said.
The ensuing partnership between Gambhir and Dravid was India's most profitable and really set the tone for how India would play New Zealand today. The left-hand, right-hand pair brought conflicting styles and batting strategies to the crease but accumulated runs with a similar sense of power and results. This strategy is akin to a left-handed bat following a right-handed bat in baseball or vice versa.
Dravid went on to his 54th Test half-century from 108 balls with 10 fours but his partnership with Tendulkar was not a long one unlike in previous matchups. The pair have scored more than 5,000 Test runs in partnerships for India but had added only 35 when Dravid was bowled by Iain O'Brien. Once Tendulkar started off on the right foot, he was gaining confidence as the day progressed, hitting accurate drives into an offside area that was inexplicably unguarded. The lack of attention paid to him proved costly as his cuts continued to be a thorn in the side of the New Zealand team. Day three of the test period will resume tomorrow.
So what do you guys think of Sachin Tendulkar's milestone? Do you think India can beat New Zealand in this Test matchup? Please post your thoughts below on how the Test series is going.
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