Wellington: It looked like the visitors were finally on the brink of doing what they had been sent to do — win a Test match. The stage was perfectly set — the hosts were down in the dumps after being bombarded by India’s bowling artillery. But then, there was a twist in the tale, scripted by New Zealand skipper Brendon McCullum. On the verge of a historical figure, McCullum’s unbeaten century has revived the hosts’ hope of a second win in the Test Series.
At stumps on Day 4, skipper McCullum’s 281 powered the hosts to a mammoth 571/6, giving them a glimmer of hope in being able to snatch the match right from under India’s nose. Enroute this total, Basin reserve saw some history being made. McCullum’s partnership with BJ Watling (124) is a world record for the highest sixth wicket partnership in Tests. Basin Reserve could also witness more of historic feats when McCullum takes guard on Tuesday, as he has his sights on surpassing Martin Crowe’s 299, the highest individual score by any Kiwi Test batsman. Interestingly, Crowe also created this record at Basin Reserve.
From 94/5 on Day 3 to 571/6 at stumps on Day 4, McCullum and Walting turned the tables around for the hosts, after a series of initial blows meted out by the Indian bowlers. However, the pitch ditched the Indian bowlers, who were made to sweat it out for their rewards, which fitted the bill for ‘too little, too late.’ Zaheer Khan scalped 3 wickets giving away 129 runs, while Mohammad Shami  picked 2 and Ishant Sharma went wicketless.
Walting and McCullum smashed the Indian bowlers all over the park to rescue their team from trouble, with McCullum becoming the first Kiwi batsman to score back-to-back centuries. However, Walting fell on 124. McCullum now has Nesham on 67 supporting him at the other end.
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