da betcris： The rain had put a dampener on the proceedings and very few spectatorswere at the ground
Anand Vasu01-Oct-1999The rain had put a dampener on the proceedings and very few spectatorswere at the ground. Those present were very vocal and excited inwelcoming the players onto the ground. Chris Harris had the crowdroaring behind him as he walked out onto the field.The New Zealanders went through some innovative fielding exercises,and looked a thoroughly professional unit. In contrast the India ‘A’side went through the motions of their exercises, much the same waywarm ups are done in schools cricket. Stephen Fleming began his tourof India on a high note, winning the toss. With the outfield still wetand slippery, Fleming chose to bat first.Mathew Horne and Mathew Bell took first strike for New Zealand on thistour of India. Amit Bhandari took up the attack for India ‘A’ butbegan badly, sending down two consecutive no balls to begin the match.After the initial difficulty, Bhandari settled down and bowl a goodline outside the off-stump. Iqbal Siddiqui was on the spot from thefirst ball and made Bell play. After 16 balls the Kiwis got theirfirst run off the bat.Bell had an early let off when he fended at a ball outside offstump.Bell was nowhere near the pitch of the ball and the ball flew off theedge to the slip cordon. The India ‘A’ captain Amol Muzumdar at secondslip let the ball slip through him. The ball raced to the third manboundary.Horne hit the first genuine stroke of the day when he flicked Siddiquinonchalantly to the mid-wicket boundary. He followed that with asmashing cut shot that would have raced to the fence in mostsituations. The outfield was slow as a result of all the moisture thathad been absorbed in the last few days. Horne then slammed a ball fromSiddiqui straight back past him for what was the shot of the day up tothat point. Presenting the full face of the bat, Horne drove the ballmagnificently off the front foot. Bell struggled to get going and wasrepeatedly beaten outside off-stump. Bell finally got a measure of thepitch and the bowling and flicked a ball from Siddiqui confidently tothe fineleg fence.Horne made a serious error of judgment and let a perfect in cutterfrom Bhandari go. The ball cut in of the seam and knocked the legstump right out of the ground. Horne had made 18 off 31 balls.Craig Spearman came in at the fall of Horne’s wicket. New Zealand gotits first taste of spin as Murali Karthik came on to bowl. He droppedthe ball short and wide and was hammered to the point boundary bySpearman. Bhandari had his second scalp when Bell guided a ball wideoutside off-stump straight to Wasim Jaffer at gully. Bell had made 21.The New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming walked out to the middle atthe fall of Bell’s wicket and was greeted by a Bhandari bouncer thatsailed harmlessly through to the wicketkeeper. Fleming drove the ballon the up in characteristic lazy fashion and was almost caught as theball dropped inches short of the fielder at cover.Fleming moved his feet well and looked extremely comfortable againstthe Indian bowling. Bhandari, the Delhi medium pacer, was the onlybowler to trouble the Kiwis. He was kept on for a long spell at oneend while Murali Karthik bowled his steady left arm spin from theother end. At the end of a 9 over spell that cost him just 20 runs, inwhich he picked up 2 wickets, Bhandari gave way to Siddiqui.Murali Karthik plugged away at a good line and length and was finallyrewarded when Spearman tried to sweep him off his pads. Spearmanmissed the line of the ball completely and was bowled around his legs.Soon after there was more disappointment for New Zealand as Flemingedged a ball on to his pads and the ball lobbed up to Wasim Jaffer atgully. Jaffer pouched the catch easily and New Zealand were 71 for 4.McMillan came in and went after Murali Karthik from the word go. Hecame down the wicket and lofted the spinner straight back over hishead for a huge six. Astle and McMillan batted positively together andbegan to score boundaries at will. Murali Karthik who was steady up tothis point dropped the ball short a couple of times and was slashedaway to the off-side boundary on both occasions.Murali Karthik and Sriram then bowled very tightly in tandem andstemmed the flow of runs. New Zealand were making slow but steadyprogress when Sriram dismissed McMillan. McMillan had made 20. A sharpturner from Sriram jumped and kissed the edge of McMillan’s bat andwent through to the wicketkeeper.Adam Parore came in next and was watchful to start off. Parore playedwith a straight bat and did not attempt any flashy strokes. At the endof 35 overs New Zealand were 119 for 5.Though he was coasting along nicely, Parore threw his wicket away justbefore the close of play. He attempted a big heave off Satpathy andended up dragging the ball to the on-side. The ball went into thewaiting hands of Siddiqui at mid-on. Parore had made 11. New Zealandwere in trouble at 134 for 6.Chris Cairns came in and it was obvious that he was playing for close.He left most deliveries alone and played only when he had to. Thebatsmen were offered light at the end of 44 overs. The New Zealandersreadily accepted and went off the field. Astle was not out on 29 andNew Zealand were 135 for 6.What began as a practice day for New Zealand ended on a disappointingnote. The visitors lost far more wickets than they would have liked.The day was dominated by the India ‘A’ bowlers whose consistency andaccuracy held them in good stead.