Story The ICC World Test Cricket Medal: ***Day Four Highlights***

[CG123]

Your graphics are just sensational, with hotspot, snicko etc.
I'd have to agree one of the best stories going around at the moment.
KUTGW and lets hope NZ can post a good reply.

 

[Pakistani Army]

383 is a bit short of what the Indians must have been expecting with Gambhir and Laxman at the crease. I feel 450 would have been a commendable effort. Wagner really bent his back and put in the effort which he was rewarded with. I feel if the Indians can get a wicket or two before Tea and have the weak(ish) Kiwi batting line-up 3 or even 4 down at the close, they can keep a strong lead heading into the second innings.

Fantastic works mate. Simply wonderful! :hpraise :hpraise

 

[shantanu_rooney]

Well I feel 383 is a decent score batting first in New Zealand. Wagner bowled really well and he got his rewards also. Indian bowlers need to be accurate and discipline with their bowling and if they are then they make take a good lead to the second innings.

Really I haven't posted in this thread before, but when I went through this thread courtesy of PA I am impressed by your brilliant graphics and presentation. KIU mate. :hpraise

 

[just_cricket]

: Welcome back to the Basin Reserve the tail end of the Afternoon session, with New Zealand about to begin their first innings. India, batting first, made a solid 383, with Gautam Gambhir the top scorer, making a fine 112, with VVS Laxman and Yuvraj Singh also posting half centuries- debutant Neil Wagner the pick of the bowlers with 4-76.

But now the onus is on the New Zealand batsmen to put up a good reply to India's total, and get themselves into a winning position. New Zealand seems to have an unfortunate habit of batting collapses, particularly in the top order and especially recently against India. Can Martin Guptill and Jamie How, who are both coming off centuries in the last match, put together a partnership together? Let's see, as we go down to Jeremy Coney and Martin Crowe in the commentary box.

: Thanks, Smithy. Well there's a lot of pressure on the two New Zealand openers, both posting maiden test centuries in the last match, about to face a fired up and skillful Indian bowling attack. I spoke yesterday on the Dilmah Tea Party about opening up an innings against Zaheer and Sharma, let's hope these two have at least some clear plan on how to begin.

: Absolutely, Martin, it's been almost 6 years since a New Zealand opening pair last managed to combine for a century stand- we have to go back to 2004 when Mark Richardson and Stephen Fleming put on 163 against England- both players have long since retired. There could hardly be a better time for these two to get their side to 100/0, so from a New Zealand fan's point of view, let's hope they can do it!

: Well we're about to get underway, anyhow. Here come the Indians, running out onto the Reserve, led of course by wicketkeeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni...
And now the two batsmen who have so much on their shoulders- a good start here is pivotal to New Zealand's fortune in this game. It looks like it's going to be Zaheer Khan to begin from the RA Vance Stand End. And he's running in now, here we go...

The first ball is delivered without much pace or effort from Zaheer Khan, really only a warm up ball, and Guptill defends it back down the pitch off the front foot. The rest of the over plays out similarly- a maiden to begin with.
Sharma injects a bit more spice into the game, bouncing How with his first ball. It is a fairly slow bouncer though, and it turns out that he is going for the slow/fast bouncer trick. Ironically, after ducking under the first one, it is the fast bouncer that How swivels round off his back foot and hits cleanly for 4:

So after neither side gaining or losing much confidence in the first over, New Zealand gains a tiny bit of confidence with that shot, showing they mean business. How plays the rest of the over well, looking very assured and positive, clipping a single off his legs from the last ball of the over.

After How pushes a quick single off Khan in the next over, Guptill looks a touch shaky and unsure, playing and missing a couple of times. However, he finally gets off the mark with a beautiful on drive for four off Sharma in the fourth over.

He beats the exquisiteness of that shot in the next Sharma over though, playing an incredible 'drop kick' shot for six over Long Leg:

The runs keep coming for New Zealand- How flicks Khan for 4, Gutpill drives Sharma beautifully for 4 more, and in the last over before Tea How plays a cracking cut shot for 4 off Sharma. With this, the Afternoon session ends, with the Black Caps having a made a good, positive start in their reply to India's 383.

: So, at 39/0 the New Zealanders couldn't really be happier with the way things have gone for them so far in their first innings. The confidence brought on by scoring centuries in the previous match has really showed from both players, who now look like they really are challenging India for the match rather than trying to fight for a little bit of respect without much belief, as has so often been the case in recent games against India.
So join Rigor and Doully for even more analysis of the day's play so far in the Dilmah Tea Party, and then of course tune back in for the final session's play, where New Zealand will be looking to capitalise on their good start- and the Indians looking to find breakthroughs on what now is quite a placid, batsman friendly wicket.

 

[hedger_14]

Nice start for the New Zealanders. Hopefully they can keep it up and put on a big score. good update, KIU.

 

[BKB1991]

Yeah New Zealand have got to decent start but it gets tougher form here on. They need to strike a bigger partnership like the Laxman-Gambhir one. So often in the past New Zealand have good partnership starts but very few times have they converted it into something substantial. This pair is un-experienced but certainly seems confident enough. I like what they are doing putting pressure on the Indians with some fine stroke play and hopefully they break the 5-year old record.
The presentation as always superb. Love it and please KUTGW

 

[Gary123]

NZ are off to a good start here.
And as Bilal said,they need to carry on and make it something big.
Nice update.[as usual]

 

[Jakester1288]

Great work, loving this story! Presentation in particular is tops!

 

[just_cricket]

Dilmah Tea Party: Vcash up for grabs!

: G'day and Welcome to the 2nd edition of the Dilmah Tea Party on Day Two of this ICC Test Cricket World Medal match between India and New Zealand. We apologise for the lateness, as we had a few technical issues delaying this edition being posted. Due to the loss of time, we don't have much time for analysis, but we still will have the Dilmah Tea Party Quiz.

: That's right, Rigor. Although we won't be able to analyse the day's play or have time for 'Hints from Hogan' we won't deny our Planetcricket viewers the chance to win vcash. A slightly new format today, here are the rules:

This is hardly ideal- please bear with me. We have no way to monitor how people score, so I am going to have to rely on your honesty. Please only take the quiz once, don't do it more than once to find out the answers and then do it again. And please be totally honest, if you cheat you are only cheating yourself and being disrespectful for all my hard work in putting this together.
- Just_Cricket, Quiz Creator

Click on the link below, take the quiz ONCE, post your percentage correct here, and please be honest. We will find a better way to do this next time, but for now, we rely on your honesty. The prizes are as follows:

-50,000 vcash for first prize
-30,000 vcash for 2nd prize
-5,000 to everyone else who enters

Dilmah Tea Party: Day 2 Quiz at Quiztron

:So that's about it from us, do take the quiz, be honest, and enjoy it. We wish you the best of luck and hope that you will enjoy the final session's play of the day, and indeed the rest of the match, brought to you exclusively from the Basin Reserve, by Sky Sport.

 

[CG123]

LOL... 60%.
Very nice quiz however.

 

[BKB1991]

Loved the new quiz. BTW i got 60% too. Messed up in the history questions and the Women's one. Did well in the more present questions. Again great idea and KUTGW.

 

[Gary123]

Nice quiz.
I got 80%.

The screenie-

 

[gutterman]

i have been quietly following this and took the quiz and got 60%.

 

[just_cricket]

Thanks guys, looks like you've been honest- although it was a good idea to show screenie. Might make that a requirement next time.
Anyone else has until stumps on Day Two to complete the quiz, which will probably be tomorrow some time.

 

[hedger_14]

I got 40%. I got the 2 Women's cricket Q's wrong. I went India for both of them. I chose draw for the most common result and a few more.