Cricket: NZ team fight to survive

BANGALORE - The New Zealand cricket team, looking for some batting practice ahead of the second test against India beginning on Friday, were instead involved in a salvage operation in Bangalore yesterday.

New Zealand lost four second-innings wickets cheaply against Indian state champions, Karnataka, in a shortened final morning session of the three-day match.

Resuming at 12 for none in their second innings, the tourists had moved to 60 for four at lunch for an overall lead of 40 runs.

Opener Matthew Horne was the first to go, adding three runs to his overnight score of nine before trying to drive a ball from seamer Dodda Ganesh but getting an snick to wicketkeeper Thilak Naidu.

The tourists' total of 30 for one became 35 for two when the introduction of test spinner Sunil Joshi brought an immediate result.

With his first ball of the morning, the left-armer had Chris Harris, who was still to score, playing forward and offering a chance to Ananthram Vijay at forward short leg.

There was worse to come for the New Zealanders in the next over when new batsman Craig Spearman left a ball from Ganesh that came back and removed his off stump.

Spearman fell in exactly the same circumstances in the first innings, with the bowler that time being Karnataka's other seamer Mansoor Ali Khan.

His dismissal led to the surprise elevation of Chris Cairns up the order to No 5.

Cairns showed an early intention to hit out, but when on eight he edged a ball to Vijay at square leg to give Ganesh his third victim of the innings.

At the other end, opener Matthew Bell was unbeaten 24. He had started to find his timing, scoring successive fours off Ali Khan, driving through mid on and then clipping a delivery through mid wicket.

He also twice hit through square leg for shots that might have brought boundaries, but heavy overnight rain meant the outfield was slow. - NZPA