Sachin and Kumble Injured!

Sachin will miss the 2nd test and it is almost confirmed that he is suffering from the groin injury. He was already advised to take two weeks rest which he didn't pay attention to.

He was also not in the field but had a substitute fielder. He missed part of the fielding on 1st, 2nd and 4th day. He was not in the picture on 5th day.

Anil Kumble, the skipper, who also felt a strain in the groin area, did not risk bowling too many overs. As the game was trending towards draw, both Sachin and Kumble felt that it is safe to take a back seat rather than risking their future.

Kumble's situation will be evaluated on April 2, a day before the start of the 2nd test.

Kaif is looked as a replacement for Sachin and he will be joining the team for the second test in Ahemadabad.

RP Singh also seemed to be unfit for the 2nd test. He recently recovered from hamstring injury, but he seems to be not fit 100 per cent.

Let us hope that Kumble recovers faster though Sachin is not available for 2nd test. Get well soon guys!

In the meantime, Ishanth Sharma has been declared fit and will most likely to play in the 2nd test.

England need 4 wickets to win 2nd Test!

England has a bright chance of levelling the series against New Zealand. With a target 438 in almost 2 days to go and close to 174 overs of play, New Zealand lost the first wicket at 18 in the form of in-form batsman How. Bell fell for 29 caught behind off Broad. Fleming followed Bell in the same over for 31. The double blow in the same over put New Zealand in the back seat.

Sinclair and Taylor played sensibly and hit few good fours. Sinclair was caught by Bell off Anderson for 39 and he added 81 for the 4th wicket. Taylor was batting well and scored his first 50 off 65 balls with 8 fours. He failed to convert his 50 into an hundred. Sidebottom gave the breakthrough by sending Taylor to pavilion for 55.

Oram and McCullum added 69 runs for the 6th wicket. Just before the light was offered to the batsman, Oram was dismissed for 30 caught at gully by Pietersen off Sidebottom.

Sidebottom ended the day with 3 crucial wickets and broad picked 2. With one more day to, England requires 4 wickets and New Zealand either has to protect the day or score 196 runs. McCullum batting with 43 and skipper Vettori is along with him in zero.

Earlier, started the day at 277 for 9, England added 16 runs to the score and the last wicket was taken by Martin.

The score so far:

Toss: New Zealand
Result: Awaited
Man of the Match: Awaited
Score:
England 1st Innings 342 in 107 overs (Cook 44, Vaughan 32, Pietersen 31, Collingwood 65, Ambrose 102, Mills 2 for 86, Gillespie 4 for 79, Oram 3 for 46)
New Zealand 1st Innings 198 in 57.5 overs (Fleming 34, Taylor 53, McCullum 25, Vettori 50 not out, Anderson 5 for 36, Collingwood 3 for 23)
England 2nd Innings 2943 in 97.4 overs (Cook 60, Strauss 44, Bell 41, Collingwood 59, Martin 2 for 77, Mills 2 for 59, Oram 3 for 44, Gillespie 2 for 63)
New Zealand 2nd Innings 438 to win - 242 for 6 with one more day to go (Bell 29, Fleming 31, Sinclair 39, Taylor 55, Oram 30, McCullum 43 batting, Sidebottom 3 for 72, Broad 2 for 38)

England has upper hand at the end of Day 3 in 2nd Test

England has a very good chance of levelling the series against New Zealand with a massive 421 runs lead with a wicket in hand. Whether New Zeland will be able to score 400+ runs in the 2nd innings with almost 2 days left, we have to wait and see.

Skipper Collingwood was the last batsman out on Day 3 for 59. He faced 116 balls and hit 10 fours. Earlier Alastair Cook made 60 to give a good start to England's second innings. Resuming day 3 at 4 for no wicket, England lost captain Vaughan early for 13. Cook and Strauss added 106 for the 2nd wicket and when everything was going fine for England, Mills sent Cook back to Pavilion. Strauss followed Cook after he added two runs with Pietersen. With score board reading 160, Pietersen fell for 17 when Martin's finger touched the ball and hit the stumps while Pietersen was far away from the crese. Then it was left to Bell and Collingwood to add some good runs to the score board. When Bell was on 41, he was caught by Sinclair of Oram. Ambrose was bowled for 5 and the score was 231 for 6. Broad added valueable 16 runs to his score and was soon out. Sidebottom was out for duck and the score was 260 for 8. Finally, Collingwood also fell LBW to Gillespie and the score is 277 for 9.

Oram picked 3 wickets, Mills and Gillespie took 2 wickets each.

Will England carry on the good bowling in the 2nd innings or will New Zealand create history by chasing 400+ in the last innings and win the test? Will have to wait and see this good test cricket--with no complaints on sledging or claiming a catch that was not taken or no big contraversies in umpiring decisions.