New Zealand 350 (McIntosh 102, Guptill 85, Zaheer 4-69) and 448 for 8 decl. (McCullum 225, Williamson 69) drew with India 472 (Harbhajan 111, Sehwag 96, Vettori 5-135) and 68 for 0 (Sehwag 54*)
Brendon McCullum reaped rewards for his hard work on day four, milking a tired bowling unit to get to the third-highest score in second innings in Tests in India. The game was headed for a draw the moment Zaheer Khan left the field again - he had been out of action for a good part of the fourth day due to an abdominal strain - after bowling just three overs in the morning session.
New Zealand, the No. 8 side in the world, have now held India, the No. 1 side, to four consecutive draws; in two of those India have done the surviving. India, who seemed to have given up surprisingly early in the morning, have now conceded 400 or more in at least one innings of their last seven Tests.There were two outside chances for the game to come to life, but both were duly thwarted. Cheteshwar Pujara dropped McCullum at forward short leg when the batsman was 148, and the lead 185. That was the only chance Harbhajan Singh had created in 26 overs until then.The next time Harbhajan created an opportunity, some excitement was manufactured, with Kane Williamson given out lbw erroneously to an offbreak certain to miss the leg stump. Williamson was on his way to becoming only the seventh man to begin his Test career with back-to-back centuries. He had survived the tense moments last evening, started the day with three boundaries in the first over, and then settled in for an innings full of his trademark back-foot punches.When he got out, though, New Zealand were 223 ahead, and there were 57 overs to go. For those who hope or fear too much, a collapse could still direct the game towards a result. McCullum and Daniel Vettori, though, took 20 runs off the next four overs to disappoint the hopeful and the fearful.It may have seemed like milking because of the ease with which McCullum got his runs, but he did it with some style and nonchalance. India tried to pack the leg side and bowled round the wicket, only to see him casually reverse-sweep them for boundaries. They were not exactly reverse-sweeps, he was so confident he just bent the knees half way and guided them past point. His maiden double-hundred he brought up with the "McScoop", having scored his last 24 runs off 19 balls. That spell of hitting also included a six over long-off off Pragyan Ojha and two reverse-swept fours off Suresh Raina.
@Cricket Buzz
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