New Zealand 1^st innings 6-328 (Ross Taylor 113, Kruger van Wyk 63*, Pragyan Ojha 4-90) vs. India

Ross Taylor led New Zealand from the front with a superb ton by punishing the Indian bowlers at will as the visitors took command on the 1^st day of the 2^nd Test.

New Zealand came out with an attacking approach on the opening day of the first Test against India and hammered 328 runs for the loss of 6 wickets in 81.3 overs.

The second and final Test of the series commenced on August 31, 2012, at M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore.

Earlier, the captain of Black Caps, Ross Taylor, won the toss and elected to bat but lost the first wicket of their prominent opener, Brendon McCullum, without a run on board. Kane Williamson joined in with the other opener Martin Guptill who scored the first four of the innings in the fifth over. The latter was dropped at 17 on the second ball of the 10^th over by Virat Kohli off Zaheer Khan and the first fifty of the innings was posted on board in the 17^th over.

Guptill punished Umesh Yadav in the 18^th over with three fours as Williamson was declared leg before wicket off Pragyan Ojha for 17 runs on the first ball of the following over. Ross Taylor came in next and Martin Guptill completed his fifty with a four. Taylor made his intentions clear by dispatching a six in the 23^rd over and Guptill became the second victim of Ojha after scoring 53 runs.

The third wicket fell at 89 runs as Daniel Flynn took guards in the centre and the boundaries started flowing from the willows of the two batsmen. The runs were scored in boundaries as compared to singles and twos. Ross Taylor was the most aggressive of the two batsmen and Pragyan Ojhan got a harsh treatment from him in the 33^rd over when the ball crossed the fence four times. Taylor achieved his fifty on 46^th ball he faced with a four and put the Indian bowlers under pressure. The duo preferred to attack, they looked like playing a limited over contest and shared a breezy 105 runs partnership in 18.5 mere overs.

The score was enhanced to 196 when Daniel Flynn was adjudged lbw off Ravichandran Ashwin for 33 runs. James Franklin remained unimpressive and managed just eight runs as the wicketkeeper batsman, Kruger van Wyk appeared on the scene. Taylor smashed his long awaited seventh Test fifty in style on the first ball of the 54^th over with a four directed behind the backward point. He was cheered up by a huge local crowd at his Indian Premier League home ground and from his dressing room. He scored his previous century against Zimbabwe on January 26, 2012, at McLean Park, Napier.

Ross Taylor tried to continue his attacking knock but became the sixth batsman who went back to the pavilion for 113 off just 127 deliveries with 2 sixes and 16 fours. Doug Bracewell associated next with van Wyk who took over from Taylor and kept on accelerating the run rate. The boundaries were flourishing from his bat, he attained his maiden Test fifty in the 73^rd over and 300 for the Kiwis appeared on board in the next over.

Kruger van Wyk remained unbeaten for his career best 63 whereas Doug Bracewell secured his end with a valuable 30. New Zealand piled up 328 runs with four wickets in hand after consuming 81.3 overs when the play was called off due to bad weather the first day.

Pragyan Ojha was the most impressive bowler with four wickets as Zaheer Khan and Ravichandran Ashwin claimed one wicket each.

New Zealand is in a healthy position and another 75-10 runs can enable them dictate their terms to India whereas the home team would like to wipe off the tail quickly on the second day.