Plays of the Day from the fourth day of the second Test between India and New Zealand in Hyderabad
ESPNcricinfo staff15-Nov-2010Celebration of the day
When he had reached his maiden Test century in Ahmedabad, Harbhajan Singh reacted slowly, letting a few moments pass before breaking into celebration. There was none of that today. As he set off for the single that made him the only No. 8 to score back-to-back centuries in Tests, Harbhajan raised his arms aloft, roared and leapt in celebration as he completed the run. He continued running halfway to the boundary and one might have thought that India had declared. Harbhajan headed back to the middle, though, looked up at the sky and embraced his partner Sreesanth, acknowledging the multiple body blows the No. 11 had endured to ensure that this moment happened.Pose of the day
It happened at least twice. First when Sreesanth struck him on the pad outside leg and yelled vociferously, and then when Harbhajan hit him outside off and appealed optimistically. Both times, Brendon McCullum was a picture of nonchalance. He would stand with legs crossed, leaning to one side, resting on his bat with the other hand on his hip, giving off a distinct “You can’t be serious” vibe. His celebration on reaching his first Test century as opener was calm and measured as well.Crash of the day
Suresh Raina, India’s swiftest fielder, watched McCullum get down on one knee and sweep the ball powerfully. He set off immediately, sprinting from midwicket, in pursuit of the ball. As quick as Raina was, he wasn’t able to reach it before it went over the boundary. He wasn’t able to stop himself running either and tumbled over an advertisement hoarding, toppling it as he went over. He wasn’t hurt though, he had only created a small scene.Streaky start of the day
Tim McIntosh doesn’t like facing Zaheer Khan. He’s fallen to Zaheer all three times in the series and struggled to get going against the bowler during his first-innings century in Hyderabad. That hasn’t deterred him from taking strike first-up though. Today, McIntosh shouldered arms to his first two balls from Zaheer but decided to push forward at the next two. Both deliveries hit the outside edge and flew wide of the slip cordon for fours.Aggressive start of the day
McCullum had waited one ball before driving Sreesanth through cover in the first innings. He didn’t wait that long today, lofting his and Sreesanth’s first delivery over the infield to the cover boundary. When Sreesanth offered him a short and wide ball a while later, McCullum got under it and slashed over the slip cordon to collect another four and he was away.McIntosh moment of the day
McIntosh hit a six in each innings in Hyderabad. Both shots were off left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha and both cleared the boundary between wide long-on and deep midwicket. They were extremely different strokes, though. In the first innings, McIntosh had reached forward and played a flick-chip that sailed gently over the boundary. In the second, he charged down the track, got under the ball and heaved it with might. It soared high towards midwicket and cleared the optimistic boundary-rider.Drama of the day
Martin Guptill was out. He had edged Ojha to MS Dhoni and was walking off. And then word reached him that he should wait because the umpire Simon Taufel was checking whether the bowler had over-stepped. Deja vu. In the first innings, Guptill had crossed the boundary after nicking Sreesanth before he was called back by umpire Kumar Dharmasena, who confirmed late with the third umpire that it was a no-ball. Guptill wasn’t that lucky twice, though, for Ojha’s boot was a fraction behind the line.Consolation of the day
You had to feel for Daniel Vettori. He had bowled his arm off on the third day and his top-order strikes had kept New Zealand on par with India until Harbhajan Singh collared him as fatigue levels rose. The punishment continued on the fourth morning as Harbhajan skipped down and lofted over long-off. Vettori had his reward a while later, when he trapped Sreesanth lbw. It would have been little consolation but the wicket completed his 19th five-wicket haul in Tests.
