| McCullum, quicks keep India down | | | Agencies
Auckland, Feb 7: Brendon McCullum narrowly missed improving his best Test score, but his second double-century formed the bedrock of New Zealand's strong first-innings total after being put into bat at Eden Park. His seamers then complemented his effort by nipping out India's top order cheaply before Rohit Sharma stemmed New Zealand's progress with an attractive array of shots that fetched him a half-century. He took India past 100 without further damage until bad light brought an early end to play.
McCullum was measured instead of cavalier during a century stand with Corey Anderson, scoring only 53 out of 133, which ensured New Zealand resumed in the manner they had finished on the first day. He stepped it up after the partnership was broken.
On 192, McCullum charged the third delivery of the last over before lunch, from Ravindra Jadeja, and cleared the fielder at long-on. He then swished the last delivery through square leg to end the first session on 202. McCullum was the last man dismissed, caught on the boundary by a sure-footed Jadeja, giving Ishant Sharma his sixth wicket. Ishant had managed to take a five-wicket haul after 19 Tests, but he was expensive as New Zealand racked up 174 runs in 31.4 overs on the second day.
McCullum had resumed seven short of his 150 and reached the milestone with a well-timed straight drive in the third over. His next boundary - a whiplash cut through point off Ishant - came eight overs later. The score, though, had been boosted by a series of boundaries by Anderson.
Had India learned from the first day, they would have noted how the New Zealand batsmen had feasted on short deliveries. Their approach seemed to have changed on the second, when Zaheer Khan and Ishant started with fuller balls, drawing thick outside edges in the first few overs. The short delivery, however, made a re-appearance after only five overs and was duly dismissed with a powerful pull from Anderson. The force of the shot didn't seem to make an impression on Ishant, who repeated a bouncer in the same over only to be dismissed through square leg again. However, with India still 174 short of the follow-on mark, they have a mountain to climb.
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