McCullum saves the day for tottering Kiwis

Brendon McCullum led a New Zealand fight back against England with a run-a-ball 97 to help his side to 208 for six when bad light ended the first day's play of the first Test at Lord's here on Thursday.


McCullum, who had seen New Zealand's top order fail again as they slumped to 109-5 at tea, on a day where rain meant there was no play before lunch, put on 99 for the sixth wicket with Jacob Oram.


But three runs short of what would have been the wicket-keeper's third Test hundred, McCullum was bowled between bat and pad by a quicker delivery from left-arm spinner Monty Panesar.


Once more he'd fallen just short of a century at Lord's, having scored 96 in the corresponding Test here four years ago. In all he hit two sixes and 13 fours, after coming in when New Zealand were in dire straits at 41-3.

At stumps, Oram was 23 not out and New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori unbeaten on five. Earlier pace bowler James Anderson, after England captain Michael Vaughan had won the toss and decided to field first in overcast, seamer-friendly conditions, took three wickets for 27 runs in his first 10 overs.


"It's bitter-sweet," said McCullum. "I'm obviously disappointed not to have made a hundred and still be at the wicket at the moment. "Last time I got quite nervous in the nineties, this time I felt quite calm. In the end, I just missed a straight one."


Assessing the state of the match, he added: "Credit to the bowling team. But for us it's not a bad day either. With the overhead conditions the way they were, there was a chance we might have been rolled over.


"If we had been out for 150, there was only one team that could have won the game. To be 208 for six and, arguably, with our two best batsmen at the crease is not a bad position.


"If we can get to 300 that would be a fantastic effort after losing the toss on that wicket," said McCullum, whose side were playing their first Test since the retirement of former New Zealand captain and No 3 batsman Stephen Fleming. McCullum, 26, is renowned as a dynamic one-day batsman.

Pointing fingers easy, says Kumble

India’s Test captain Anil Kumble has come out in defence of his Bangalore skipper Rahul Dravid after their dismal run in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and criticism by team owner Vijay Mallya .


“What’s unfortunate is that, invariable, everyone starts pointing fingers at the captain. So it stands all the more to reason that people within the camp then stand up and say ‘we believe in you and your team’. That’s what’s most important in this kind of situation,” Kumble wrote in his column in Hindustan Times.


Bangalore have lost seven of their first nine matches and Mallya, apart from sacking CEO Charu Sharma , blamed Dravid for the team selection.

“I do understand that the IPL is different and there is a corporate look and feel to the whole concept. But having said that, at the end of the day, it is a cricket match - one that a cricketer does not want to lose,” he wrote.


“As players, we go through various ups and downs in our careers, there are phases when nothing one does is wrong and there are others where the same things that come so naturally to you seem like alien concepts. But as cricketers, we also know the bad times will pass, that we will pick ourselves up and bounce back,” wrote Kumble, conceding that Bangalore had lost the plot in this year’s IPL.


“It might be somewhat late for this tournament and that’s unfortunate, but we have a bunch of proven quality players and nothing can take that away.”

Clash of giants at Wankhede Today

This is a clash between two titans (Sachin and Sourav). This is a battle between two resurgent teams in Indian Premier League. This is a war between battle hardened veterans (Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Shaun Pollock, Sanath Jayasuriya and Shoaib Akhtar). This is a cricket match between two teams with strongest fan bases. This IPL T20 match is crucial for both teams to strengthen their semi-final chances.

Shoaib Akhtar stunned cricket analysts with a superlative performance on his favourite Eden gardens ground against Delhi Daredevils. But Mumbai should be careful against Ishant Sharma as he rarely gives you width to the stroke players unlike Shoaib Akhtar.

Batting: Mumbai has clear edge in batting with so many ideal T20 batsmen who can score quick fire 20-30 runs if necessary. How long Kolkata will depend on David Hussey and Sourav Ganguly? If those two batsmen fall cheaply, Kolkata may not score even 100 runs. Mumbai should try to exploit this weakness. Kolkata needs to promote exciting wicketkeeper Saha as opener to utilise power play overs.

Bowling: Both teams are looking even in this department. But Mumbai has slight edge due to presence of high quality all-rounders. Ashish Nehra should bowl consistently like Shaun Pollock to trouble Kolkata in the early overs. As long as Kolkata picks Akash Chopra, opposition is always in safe position.

Fielding: Kolkata is exceptional in fielding against Delhi.

Match timings: 8 PM – 11 PM at Wankhede stadium.

Interesting battle:
1. Sachin Tendulkar-Sanath Jayasuriya Vs Shoiab Akhtar: If Shoaib can able to repeat his last match performance against Mumbai, Kolkata win is certain. But experienced openers may utilise his pace to score some easy runs. I am expecting 2003 World Cup performance from Sachin Tendulkar.

Verdict: Mumbai has edge over Kolkata due to its strong batting and useful all-rounders. To defeat Mumbai, Kolkata batsmen especially Salman Butt should play along with Ganguly-Hussey. But after seeing Mumbai performance against Chennai, I am feeling sorry for Kolkata.

Probable squads:

Mumbai Indians: Sachin Tendulkar (captain), Sanath Jayasuriya, Robin Uthappa, Thornley, Bravo, Abhishek Nayar, Shaun Pollock, Yogesh Takawale, Ashish Nehra, Dhawal Kulkarni and Rohan Raje.

Kolkata Knight Riders: Sourav Ganguly (Captain), Salman Butt, Akash Chopra, David Hussey, Shukla, Saha, Shoaib Akhtar, Ishant Sharma, Mohammad Hafeez/ Taibu, Iqbal Abdulla and Ashok Dinda.