Wellington, Feb 18: Brendon McCullum became the first New Zealand batsman to hit a triple-hundred in Test cricket to take the second cricket Test beyond India’s reach on the morning session of the fifth and final day, in Wellington on Tuesday.
McCullum scored a historic 302 on the opening session of day while Jimmy Neesham smashed a century on debut as the hosts declared their second innings at 680 for eight in 210 overs with an overall lead of 434 runs.
McCullum struck Zaheer Khan for a four in front of third man to reach the landmark in the 200th over of the Black Caps’s second innings at a packed Basin Reserve.
At lunch, India were at 10 for no loss off four overs, chasing an improbable 435 runs for a win. Shikhar Dhawan (2 not out) and Murali Vijay (7 not out) were at the crease.
McCullum’s 302 runs overtook Martin Crowe’s 299 scored against Sri Lanka, also at the same ground, in 1991 to become highest individual Test scorer for New Zealand.
It was also the third-highest innings by a number five batsman in Test cricket after Michael Clarke’s 329 not out against India in 2012 and Sir Don Bradman’s 304 against England in 1934.
McCullum’s effort is also the second-highest individual score in the second innings after Hanif Mohammad’s 337 against West Indies in 1958. Overall he is the 24th Test batsman to hit a triple-hundred, while this is the 28th instance of a triple-hundred being scored.
McCullum started the final day of on 281 not out, needing another 19 runs to get to that magical landmark.
At the other end was debutant Neesham (67 not out) as New Zealand started from the overnight score of 571 for six under overcast skies.
It didn’t matter much as Neesham cut loose almost immediately, while McCullum was more subdued as he took his time.
Neesham struck six lusty boundaries early into the day’s play and reached his maiden Test hundred in the 199th over of the innings, facing 124 balls and hitting 15 fours.
But the main focus was on McCullum, who joined that exclusive 300-run club in the next over as the entire stadium stood on its feet to salute the historic knock.
McCullum, however, didn’t last long thereafter, edging one to Doni off Zaheer. He faced 559 balls and struck 32 fours and four sixes during his monumental innings.
Two overs later, Zaheer completed his five-wicket haul, as Tim Southee (11) gave a skier to Cheteshwar Pujara.
It was the first time in his 92-Test career that Zaheer had bowled 50 overs in a single innings.
New Zealand didn’t declare as anticipated and carried on for a while longer, even as India put on their part-timers. In the end, the Black Caps reached their highest Test innings total overtaking their effort of 671 for four against Sri Lanka in 1991, also at Wellington.
Neesham stayed unbeaten on 137, the highest individual score by a batsman on debut batting lower than number seven, beating Azhar Mahmood’s 128 not out against South Africa in 1997. It was also the highest runs scored by a New Zealand batsman on debut, beating
Scott Styris’ 107 against West Indies in 2002.
For India, Zaheer was the highest wicket-taker in the innings with a haul of five for 170. Mohammad Shami (2/149) and Ravindra Jadeja (1/115) also picked up wickets, while Ishant Sharma (0/164) saw the other side of the coin after picking his career-best figures in the first innings.
Rohit Sharma (0/40), Virat Kohli (0/13), Mahendra Singh Dhoni (0/5) and Shikhar Dhawan (0/3) also sent down some overs in this innings.
Scoreboard at lunch:
New Zealand 1st innings 192
India 1st innings 438
New Zealand 2nd innings (overnight 252-5)
Peter Fulton lbw b Khan 1
Hamish Rutherford c Dhoni b Khan 35
Kane Williamson c Dhoni b Khan 7
Tom Latham c Dhoni b Shami 29
Brendon McCullum c Dhoni b Khan 302
Corey Anderson c & b Jadeja 2
B J Watling lbw b Shami 124
Jimmy Neesham batting 67
Extras: (B-9, LB-12, W-2, NB-7) 30
Total: (for eight wickets; 210 overs) 680
Fall of wickets: 1-1, 2-27, 3-52, 4-87, 5-94, 6-446, 7-625, 8-639.
Bowling: Ishant Sharma 45-4-164-0, Zaheer Khan 51-13-170-5, Mohammed Shami 43-6-149-2, Ravindra Jadeja 52-11-115-1, Rohit Sharma 11-0-40-0, Virat Kohli 6-1-13-0, Mahendra Singh Dhoni 1-0-5-0, Shikhar Dhwan 1-0-3-0.
India 2nd innings:
Murali Vijay not out 7
Shikhar Dhawan not out 2
Extras : (NB-1) 1
Total: (for no loss in 4 overs) 10
Bowling : Boult 2-0-5-0, Southee 2-0-5-0.
Comments
Add new comment