Published>Mon, Nov 15 10 01:23 PM
Feisty off-spinner Harbhajan Singh became the first number eight batsman in Test cricket to slam back-to-back centuries in a match as India took a sizeable lead against New Zealand on the fourth morning of the second Test here on Monday.
Harbhajan slammed 111 off 116 balls and his record 105-run partnership for the 10th wicket with S Sreesanth helped the hosts take a first innings lead of 122 before Daniel Vettori castled the number 11 bat to put the brakes on India's innings at 472.
Vettori, who bowled nearly 50 overs, finished with impressive figures of five for 135, while Tim Southee took three for 119.
At lunch, the visitors were trailing by 85 runs. In their second essay, New Zealand were 37 for no loss, with Tim McIntosh and Brendon McCullum batting on 18 and 15, respectively.
Resuming at an overnight 434 for nine, the duo of Harbhajan, who was unbeaten on 85 at stumps on the third day, and Sreesanth racked up 36 runs in quick time that saw the off-spinner getting to the coveted landmark.
The landmark was touched when Harbhajan tucked off his hips a Tim Southee delivery, in the seventh over of the day.
His team-mates in the dressing room spontaneously stood up and the crowd clapped and whistled for the man Rahul Dravid described as the "new Gary Sobers".
Harbhajan leaped in joy, looked skywards and waved to the crowd to acknowledged the cheers. The spinner also thanked his partner who defied the visitors for 115 minutes, which saw him take some blows on the body.
Harbhajan started from where he had left off on Sunday, slamming Vettori for a six straight down the ground.
After reaching his century, he smashed Southee over wide long-on for his seventh six of the innings and second of the day.
The 100-run partnership was up in just 110 minutes and off 149 balls. Harbhajan's hurricane knock contained seven sixes and an equal number of boundaries.
The Kiwi reply has been steady so far with first innings centurion McIntosh and McCullum batting with ease.
After Zaheer Khan and S Sreesanth failed to provide a breakthrough, Mahendra Singh Dhoni introduced the spinners but the New Zealand openers negotiated them well.
What could be a major cause for concern to India is Sressanth's recurrent problem with no balls. The pacer overstepped thrice during his short five-over spell.
Source: Web Search
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