Monday, February 17, 2014

What McCullum taught Dhoni in Wellington

By John Cheeran
The outcome of the second Test in Wellington has become irrelevant. India may win it tomorrow, but New Zealand has won it already on Monday.
The last two days have been a revelation about Indian cricket in the form of Brendon McCullum. India lacks quality performers to force their will upon the game. Indian cricket team lacks the will to surpass the surroundings and change the game.
If he were an Indian, New Zealand skipper would have been declared as a living saint for performing the kind of miracles he has done first in Auckland (224 in the first innings) and now in Basin Reserve. For lesser wonders we have canonized cricketers.
McCullum has taken the match away from India with his magnificent (yes, he was dropped early on his innings on Sunday) unbeaten 281. (A VVS Laxmanesque score when the Indian played a match-turning second innings against the Aussies) After conceding a first innings lead of 246 runs and finding the team tottering at 94/5 who would have thought the Kiwis would go into the final day of the Test and series holding the advantage. New Zealand now leads by 325 runs. They have the freedom to frustrate India further by adding more runs and denying India less time to go for an exciting win.
To crack two double centuries in consecutive matches against what was initially considered a world class opposition is a no mean feat. It’s a feat not even the great Sachin Tendulkar has done in his refulgent, long career. On Tuesday, McCullum could surpass Tendulkar by completing his first Test triple century.

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