HYDERABAD: Opener Tim McIntosh struck a fine 102 to steer New Zealand to 258-4 on the first day of the second Test against India Friday. The left-hander hit 10 fours and a six during his near seven-hour innings before being bowled by Zaheer Khan in the penultimate over of the day at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium, hosting its first Test. McIntosh added 147 runs with Martin Guptill (85) for the second wicket and 55 for the third with Ross Taylor (24) to steady the New Zealand boat after the early dismissal of opener Brendon McCullum. Jesse Ryder was on 22 and Gareth Hopkins was yet to open his account when stumps were called for the day. Zaheer Khan was the most successful bowler, ending the day with 2-41 from 18 overs. McIntosh, who turns 31 next month, reached his second Test century in his 15th Test with a single off Harbhajan Singh. He became the first Kiwi opener to score a century outside New Zealand in six years after Stephen Fleming's ton against England in 2004. McIntosh, who bagged a pair in the drawn first Test in Ahmedabad, overcame a tentative start to play some handsome shots on either side of the wicket. He offered a half-chance off Harbhajan when on 81 but Rahul Dravid, running from mid-on, failed to get to the ball in time. Guptill provided the early momentum to the innings with his aggressive shots and brought up his fourth Test half-century with a nicely cut four off left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha. He looked set for a bigger score but fell leg before wicket to Ojha shortly before tea while trying to work the ball towards the square-leg region. He cracked nine fours and a six in his 160-ball knock. Taylor gifted away his wicket by prodding at an away-going delivery from Zaheer early in the final session. The tourists got off to a shaky start after electing to bat, losing McCullum (four) in the fourth over of the morning when he edged Shanthakumaran Sreesanth to wicketkeeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Guptill, ignored for the Ahmedabad Test, was given out by on-field Sri Lankan umpire Kumar Dharmasena after he was caught behind the stumps in Sreesanth's fourth over. But Dharmasena consulted with TV umpire Amiesh Saheba, who ruled the delivery to be a no-ball, and Guptill was called back. Lucky Guptill grew in confidence and twice drove Sreesanth for fours in the same over before lofting Harbhajan over the long-on boundary for a six. The third and the final Test will be played in Nagpur from Nov. 20-24. England in control Openers Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook put England in a strong position with an unbeaten stand of 94 on the second day of their three-day tour game against South Australia Friday. The tourists held an overall lead of 161 runs with all second innings wickets intact after leading by 67 runs following the first innings. At the close, Strauss was not out 56 with Cook on 37. England took almost 68 overs to dismiss South Australia for 221 after it resumed from an overnight 26 without loss. – Agence France
