India vs New Zealand, 2nd Test, Day 4 Highlights – 17th February 2014
India vs New Zealand, 2nd Test, Day 4 Highlights - Part 1
India vs New Zealand, 2nd Test, Day 4 Highlights - Part 2
India vs New Zealand, 2nd Test, Day 4 Highlights - Part 3
India vs New Zealand, 2nd Test, Day 4 Highlights - Part 4
India vs New Zealand, 2nd Test, Day 4 Highlights - Short Highlights
New Zealand 192 and 571 for 6 (Brendon McCullum 281 not out*, BJ Watling 124 runs, Jimmy Neesham 67 runs) lead India 438 by 325 runs
It began as a "let's see what we can do" minutes after lunch on day
three. Then it became about taking it to the next session. Then to the
next day. Along the way it was about making India bat again. Even the
most fanciful of New Zealand players or fans wouldn't have thought or
planned how they would go about it but, close to five sessions later,
New Zealand are the only team in a realistic position to win this match.
Brendon McCullum and BJ Watling added 194 to their overnight 158-run
stand without ever looking in trouble, helping New Zealand take the lead
to 325 by stumps. When the two came together, New Zealand were 152 in
arrears.
This is possibly New Zealand's best rearguard ever. McCullum became the
first New Zealander to score back-to-back double-centuries, and finished
the day 19 short of their first triple-century. Watling played the
longest innings by a New Zealand wicketkeeper and fell only two short of
the highest by a New Zealand No. 7 in the second innings. Together they
put on the highest sixth-wicket partnership, at 352 runs, in Test
cricket. And when Watling finally fell, Jimmy Neesham came in and
smacked an unbeaten 67 off 96, the third-highest by a New Zealand
debutant at No. 8.
Numbers, though, don't do justice to the stories. The task New Zealand's
batsmen faced was enormous. They were going with an aim of just batting
and batting for days, and at any point for a major duration in the
partnership one bad ball could turn the whole match back in India's
favour. Having put in a huge effort on day three, New Zealand still
began the day at 6 for 5. Just imagine the cruelty of getting out at any
point in the first session, and watching India come back.
