Opener McIntosh gives New Zealand solid start

HYDERABAD, India, (Reuters) – Opener Tim McIntosh  scored his second test hundred to build a solid platform for New Zealand in their first innings on the opening day of the second test against India yesterday.

At the close, the visitors had reached 258 for four with Jesse Ryder (22) and Gareth Hopkins (0) at the crease.
Left-hander McIntosh (102), under tremendous pressure after his golden duck in the first test, batted with a lot of composure and determination.

He became the first New Zealand opener in six years to score a century away from home and hit 10 boundaries and a six during  his 254-ball knock.

McIntosh put on 147 runs with Martin Guptill (85) for the  second wicket and 55 runs for the third with Ross Taylor (24)  before he dragged left-hand paceman Zaheer Khan on to his stumps  in the penultimate over of the day.

Guptill fell leg before to left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha  after a shaky start, during which he survived a caught behind  off a no-ball and a dropped catch.

The right-handed batsman, who replaced BJ Watling from the  first test, used his feet well against the spinners as he grew  in confidence and hit nine boundaries and a six.

Taylor edged Khan to India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni  behind the stumps after a confident start.
Shanthakumaran Sreesanth removed Brendon McCullum (4) early  after New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori won the toss and opted  to bat at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.

McCullum was squared up by an outswinger from Sreesanth and  edged an easy catch to wicketkeeper Dhoni.
The right-arm pace bowler also had Guptill edge to Dhoni  with one that swung late but umpire Kumar Dharmasena ruled it as  a no-ball after consulting with the third umpire.

Guptill was fortunate again when Dhoni floored a sharp  chance on 11 off Harbhajan Singh’s bowling.


SCOREBOARD

New Zealand first innings
T. McIntosh b Khan                                     102
B. McCullum c Dhoni b Sreesanth              4
M. Guptill lbw b Ojha                                   85
R. Taylor c Dhoni b Khan                            24
J. Ryder not out                                             22
G. Hopkins not out                                          0
Extras (b-1, lb-15, w-1, nb-4)                    21
Total (four wickets; 90 overs)                 258
To bat: K. Williamson, D. Vettori, T. Southee, C. Martin, B.  Arnel   Fall of wicket: 1-4 2-151 3-206 4-253
Bowling (to date): Khan 18-7-41-2, Sreesanth 15-1-60-1 (4nb,  1w), Harbhajan 27-6-66-0, Ojha 23-4-60-1, Raina 7-2-15-0.
India: V. Sehwag, G. Gambhir, R. Dravid, S. Tendulkar, VVS  Laxman, S. Raina, MS Dhoni (captain), H. Singh, Z. Khan, P.  Ojha, S. Sreesanth.
The three-match series is tied at 0-0 after the opening test  was drawn in Ahmedabad.