Ind vs NZ 1st Test Live Blog; Live cricket scores and commentary
1st session summary: Good session for India. The conditions were overcast when play started but they have seen through the first session without losing a wicket. Pujara and Dhoni were patient initially and the runs eventually came towards the end of the session. Dhoni went past his half century and Pujara got his 150. Both look good for much more, and if that happens, the Kiwis will be staring at a huge total. Join us at 12:10 for the next session.
11:30 am | LUNCH: India are 371/5 at the stage with Pujara unbeaten on 151 and skipper Dhoni going steay on 61.
11:27 pm | 106.5 overs: Doug Bracewell to Pujara, FOUR, 150 for Pujara with a fine shot. Banged in short down the leg side, Pujara swivels and helps it on its way to the fine leg fence, removes his helmet and raises his bat to the audience.
10:58 am | 99.6 overs: Doug Bracewell to Dhoni, no run, good length on the off, Dhoni pushes it to covers for a single. That’s the end of the 100th over and India are going steady and strong on 335/5 with Pujara on 133 and captain Dhoni batting on 43.
DRINKS are on the field now. India have been watchful but have seen off the first hour without losing a wicket. It will only get easier to bat on from now.
10:50 am | 99 overs: India are 333/5 at the stage with Pujara batting on 132 and Dhoni on 42. Pujara must be targeting a double ton.
Aakash Chopra tweets: If there’s one thing that I could change with most Indian pitches, it would be the bounce. Need more bounce to produce attractive cricket.
10:40 am | 96.6 overs: Chris Martin to Dhoni, no run, good carry to van Wyk as Dhoni shoulders arms, there is clear uneven bounce off the track. India are 326/5 at the stage with Pujara going strong on 127 and Dhoni on 40.
10:00 am | The players are out in the middle. An important session ahead for both teams. The ball is just 7 overs old and the conditions are overcast, so the pacers will enjoy the conditions.
9:50 am | Play will start in 5 minutes. New Zealand will enjoy the overcast conditions..
9:30 am | It’s not raining yet, but the ground is still covered. And just as I type that, the groundsmen are removing them! So we shoould have play soon. Ravi Shastri asks: “what was the groundsman trying to do? Is he Nostradamus?”
Pujara: I am happy that I have made a comeback and I have started well. I like to thank my father for supporting me. It is my immense love for the game that keeps me going. We were playing in tough conditions on the A tour to the West Indies. I knew that I was facing these kind of bowlers and I knew the ground well. I was better prepared. The pitch is slowing down and it is starting to turn. MS Dhoni is telling me to score a double ton and we will look to go past 400.
Day 1 summary: The day belonged to Cheteshwar Pujara. He has nicely slotted back into the Indian Test team after a gap of 20 months. His first Test century lit up what has been an even day for both India and New Zealand. Both the openers fell to poor shots while Tendulkar was sent back by a wonderful delivery from Boult. Kohli and Pujara shared a 125 run stand before Martin accounted for Kohli. Raina too fell cheaply before Dhoni and Pujara steadied the ship. As a result India ended the day on 307/5 (Pujara 119*, Dhoni 29*)
