Cricket: McCullum's 225 saves Black Caps

New Zealand's Brendon McCullum raises his bat after scoring a double century. Photo / AP

Is there anything versatile New Zealand cricketer Brendon McCullum cannot do with bat in hand?

The question is posed in all seriousness after the one-day and Twenty20 space cadet travelled long distance by more conventional means to dig his team out of a huge hole and draw the second test against India today.

The same bloke who blazed his way to 116 not out off 56 balls in a Twenty20 crash and bash contest against Australia in February transformed himself in quite remarkable fashion to grind out a test best 225 in close to nine hours.

"In all honesty I didn't think I had it in me," the 29-year-old said after facing 308 balls over 544 minutes to guide the tourists to the safe haven of 448 for eight declared in their second innings, meaning everything is up for grabs in the third and deciding test starting at Nagpur on Saturday.

The Indians were left enough time to bat again for 17 overs, with opener Virender Sehwag helping himself to a cheap half-century at run-a-ball pace before the game was called off with the hosts on 68 without loss.

With New Zealand starting the final day at 237 for four, and leading only by 115 runs overall, McCullum tailored his natural game to suit his team's best interests, advancing from his overnight 124 to post his first double century in his 54th test and just the second match since he converted himself into a specialist top order batsman.

By the time he departed when trying to register a 23rd four to go alongside four sixes, New Zealand were home and hosed at 431 for seven, his job was done and he could reflect on a moment to cherish.

"I probably surprised myself with how I went about batting.

"To come out today and add another hundred to what I had and steer us out of a precarious situation is satisfying at the end of the day," McCullum said after becoming just the second New Zealander in history to post a double century on Indian soil.

It put him alongside a true legend of the game - the late, great Bert Sutcliffe - who made 230 not out at New Delhi way back in the 1955-56 season.

"Batting down the order (as he formerly did as a wicketkeeper) you get used to batting a certain way.

"I knew there were different challenges in front of me batting up the order and one of those was batting for a long period of time."

McCullum, who put on a crucial stand of 124 for the fifth wicket with 20-year-old Kane Williamson, said there were times when he struggled with the mental pressures associated with such a long innings in the heat of Hyderabad.

"Being able to negotiate the tempo for 8-1/2 hours is something you hope you are able to do but after four hours I was really struggling.
"I managed to hang in there and get through to the next break and that's how I went about it for the next couple of hours."

McCullum did his utmost to restrain himself but still found the opportunities to parade the reverse sweeps and lap shots which are his signature from the shorter versions of the game.

Mostly, though, he painted a picture of concentration and application, helped considerably this morning when Williamson contributed a very heady 69 to take the pressure off his senior partner.

"It can't be under-played how well he played in the first three-quarters of an hour," McCullum said of the rookie, who scored 131 on debut in the drawn first test at Ahmedabad.

"He dominated the crease and he took us away from the danger zone."
McCullum's heroics enabled his team to escape with a draw from a match which threatened to get away from them when their first innings effort of 350 came up short of requirements.

They responded with a huge bowling performance to restrict the world No 1 Indians to 367 for nine before Harbhajan Singh belted a stunning unbeaten 111 off 114 balls during a 10th wicket partnership of 105 with tailender Shantakumaran Sreesanth.

So they were the side under pressure for the majority of the match, and to come out the other side fully intact bodes well as the third test awaits in Nagpur.

- NZPA