Thu, Oct 30, 2008 page20

• NZ win series after Bangladesh draw

  SAVING FACE The Kiwis and Bangladesh drew the rain-affected second Test when the captains agreed to halt play, handing the tourists a 1-0 series victory

  • AFP
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  Bangladesh fought hard to stave off an embarrassing defeat against some quality New Zealand bowling as the second Test finally ended in a draw on the fifth and final day yesterday.

  New Zealand clinched the two-match series 1-0 after they won the first Test at Chittagong by three wickets. They nearly pulled off a highly unlikely win after the first three days were washed out.

  The home team were facing a possible follow-on and with it a defeat at 44-6 before brilliant knocks by all-rounders Shakib Al Hasan (49) and Mashrafe Mortaza (48) helped them avoid the ignominy of batting for a second time.

  

  The bat slips out of the hands of Bangladesh’s Tamim Iqbal as New Zealand’s Ross Taylor looks on during the fifth day of the second Test between Bangladesh and New Zealand in Dhaka, Bangladesh, yesterday.

  PHOTO: AP

  With not much to play for, the tourists batted a second time and reached 79-1 before both captains decided to call off the match. Jesse Ryder followed his 91 in the first-innings with an unbeaten 39 while Aaron Redmond made 30 not out.

  Opener Jamie How was dismissed for eight.

  Earlier Hasan and Mortaza put on a fighting 78-run stand for the seventh wicket which enabled Bangladesh to declare their first innings at 169-9, six more than required to avoid the follow-on.

  

  Australia’s Matthew Hayden dives to stop a shot by India’s Gautam Gambhir as Australia wicketkeeper Brad Haddin looks on during the first day of the third Test match at Feroj Shah Kotla stadium in New Delhi, India, yesterday.

  PHOTO: AFP

  Because the match became a two-day game after the first three days were washed out, Bangladesh needed to reach within 100 runs of New Zealand’s first-innings score of 262-6 declared to avoid batting a second time.

  Resuming at 13-3, the home side lost Mehrab Hossain (7) when off-spinner Jeetan Patel turned one sharply into him, trapping him in front of the stumps.

  Opener Tamim Iqbal, who saw three wickets fall in one Daniel Vettori over on Tuesday, took the score to 44 in the company of Mushfiqur Rahim before both fell in successive overs.

  Vettori had Iqbal caught off a miscued drive while Rahim gloved a short delivery from paceman Iain O’Brien to wicket-keeper Brendon McCullum after scoring seven.

  Mortaza and Hasan took Bangladesh past their lowest Test score of 62 made against Sri Lanka at Colombo last year before Vettori ended Hasan’s resistance by trapping him leg-before.

  Vettori was the pick of visitors’ bowling with 5-66, finishing with 14 wickets in two Tests.

  O’Brien, who finished with 3-31, had Mortaza caught before Abdur Razzak (16 not out) avoided follow-on.

  Bangladesh’s hopes of leveling the two-match series were dashed by bad weather on the first three days and by sloppy batting on Tuesday.

  New Zealand, who beat Bangladesh by an innings victory in three days at Hamilton in 2001 after the first two days were washed out, had harbored similar hopes until lunch before Hasan and Mortaza batted solidly.

  There have been 19 cases of a Test match finishing inside two days, but no team has ever won a Test after the first three days were washed out.

  
  

  ■ INDIA V AUSTRALIA

  AFP, NEW DELHI

  Opening batsman Gautam Gambhir struck a career-best unbeaten 149 to propel India to 296-3 on an ill-tempered first day of the third Test against Australia yesterday.

  Gambhir put on 130 runs with Sachin Tendulkar (68) and also shared 139 runs with Venkatsai Laxman (54 not out) for the unbroken fourth wicket after the hosts were reeling at 27-2 in the morning session.

  The opener, who bettered his previous-best knock of 139 against Bangladesh, was involved in verbal sparring with the tourists, who must avoid defeat if they are to keep alive their chances of retaining the Border-Gavaskar trophy.

  They trail 1-0 in the four-Test series after losing the previous match in Mohali by 320 runs. The opener in Bangalore ended in a draw.

  Tensions between the two teams came to the boil when Gambhir apparently elbowed Shane Watson while taking a second run after the all-rounder seemed to mutter something to the batsman.

  Watson unleashed a nasty bouncer in his next over, but Gambhir responded by lofting him for a six over long-on to bring up his third Test century and second on the trot after his second-innings 104 in Mohali.

  The left-hander also became involved in a spat with part-time bowler Simon Katich, and umpire Billy Bowden had to intervene.

  The trouble started when Katich apparently tried to obstruct Gambhir from taking a run and the Indian made his displeasure known. Katich charged at Gambhir but Michael Clarke pulled him away and Bowden stepped in promptly.

  Laxman, playing his 99th Test, batted with composure amid all the action around him, reaching his 36th Test fifty.

  Tendulkar made a fine 68 with 11 boundaries before edging behind to wicketkeeper Brad Haddin off Mitchell Johnson (2-69) in the last over before tea.

  Tendulkar, 35, looked in sublime touch during his 124-ball knock, whipping Cameron White past extra cover and following it up with a slog sweep over midwicket to force the leg-spinner out of the attack.

  Tendulkar reached his 51st half-century with a four off Stuart Clark, who conceded just 29 runs off his 21 overs but failed to take a wicket.

  The hosts lost in-form opener Virender Sehwag (1) and the usually dependable Rahul Dravid for 11 after Anil Kumble won the toss and elected to bat on an easy-paced track.

  Sehwag had faced just two balls when he was trapped leg before off Brett Lee (1-70) in the third over of the day.

  Dravid hit Johnson for a four to fine leg, but then edged the bowler to Matthew Hayden in the slips.

  The fourth and final Test will be played in Nagpur from next Thursday.
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