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أثنى حسن علي عيسى الأمين العام للهلال السوداني على حفاوة الاستقبال الذي تلقته بعثة فريق الكرة استعدادا لمواجهة الأهلي في دوري أبطال إفريقيا.

ويلاقي الأهلي منافسه الهلال السوداني مساء السبت المقبل على أرضية استاد القاهرة في الجولة السادسة من مرحلة المجموعات بالمسابقة القارية.

ونشرت الصفحة الرسمية للهلال السوداني عبر “فيس بوك”: “طمأن الدكتور حسن علي عيسى، الأمين العام لنادي الهلال، ورئيس بعثة فريق الكرة بالقاهرة، الجماهير على وصول البعثة إلى معقل الأهلي”.

وأكملت: “أشاد علي عيسى بالاستقبال الطيب الذي حظيت به البعثة عند وصولها مطار القاهرة، ممتدحا موقف السفارة السودانية بمصر، ونادي الأهلي، الذي تواجد في الاستقبال بوفد رفيع تقدمه سمير عدلي المدير الإداري للنادي”.

طالع | بعثة الهلال السوداني تصل القاهرة استعدادًا لمواجهة الأهلي

وأردفت: “كما ثمن دور الجماهير الزرقاء التي توافدت بكثافة، وقدمت دفعة معنوية كبيرة لأفراد البعثة، مشيدًا بموقفها ومن خلفها اللجنة التي نظمت الاستقبال الذي وصفه بالأنيق”.

واختتمت: “كما شكر إدارة مطار القاهرة على تعاملها الجيد مع البعثة، وأعرب الأمين العام عن تفاؤله بعودة الفريق ببطاقة الترقي للدور القادم”.

MatériaMais Notícias

Foi na base da briga e da vontade. Jogando em Pelotas diante do CRB, o Brasil ganhou pela vantagem mínima em gol já na parte final do confronto assinalado pelo centroavante Michel.

Com o resultado, o Xavante não só pulou para a 15ª posição com 31 unidades, deixando a zona de rebaixamento, como também acabou “empurrando” o seu adversário dessa tarde de sábado (15) para o Z4 com 29 pontos no 17º lugar.

Sonolento…

Pouco se pode extrair do primeiro tempo da partida, já que o momento ruim na tabela de classificação das duas equipes era plenamente justificado com a falta de criatividade apresentada. Com isso, sobrava vontade e faltava bastante qualidade técnica.

O Brasil até assumia o papel de protagonismo na posse de bola, mas esbarrava nos mesmos erros do CRB: A troca de passes. Mesmo assim, quem conseguiu ser “menos pior” e deu alguns chutes fracos foram os visitantes que, se pouco trouxeram problemas a Marcelo Pitol, ao menos acionaram o arqueiro Xavante.

Mudou o tempo e surgiu uma esperança

A etapa complementar caminhava com o mesmo roteiro dos primeiros 45 minutos, mas a história da partida ameaçou se modificar já aos 24 minutos quando Welinton Junior bateu rasteiro e viu a bola passar perto do gol defendido por João Carlos.

Foi no abafa!

Com o roteiro de partida com pouco recurso técnico, foi a bola parada que “salvoua pele” do Brasil de Pelotas. Após cruzamento feito por Alex Ruan aos 37 minutos, a bola espirrou na zaga do Galo da Praia, rebateu em Michel e foi para as redes batendo antes no travessão.

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MatériaMais Notícias

O zagueiro Martín Rea está próximo de ser anunciado oficialmente como reforço do Atlético-MG por uma temporada. Neste sábado, o Danubio, clube da primeira divisão do campeonato uruguaio, publicou em seu site a confirmação do empréstimo do jogador pelo período de um ano com opção de compra de 90% dos direitos econômicos em 2019. Pela equipe de Montevidéu, o defensor de 20 anos disputou 13 jogos nesta temporada e balançou as redes uma vez.

Martín Rea chega para suprir a carência no setor defensivo, que se tornou alvo de críticas no Galo devido ao alto número de gols sofridos pela equipe nas disputas de 2018. A contratação será concluída em boa hora, já que o técnico Thiago Larghi vinha falando da necessidade de uma nova peça para o setor desde a saída de Bremer para o Torino (ITA), em junho.

Atualmente, o plantel profissional alvinegro conta com cinco jogadores da posição, são eles: Leonardo Silva, Gabriel, Iago Maidana, Juninho e Matheus Mancini. Após afirmar estar satisfeito com a formação do time, o técnico Thiago Larghi avaliou a chegada de Martín Rea como uma oportunidade de negócio identificada pela diretoria.

– A gente está satisfeito com o que a gente tem. Nesse caso, em especial, é uma oportunidade que está surgindo. A diretoria entende que é uma oportunidade de negócio. A gente concorda, analisando o jogador, um pouco do histórico dele. Apesar de ter pouca experiência, já foi convocado para a seleção de base do Uruguai. Se é uma oportunidade de negócio, se é um jogador jovem, que vem para somar, ganhar experiência, crescer e trabalhar aqui já pensando na próxima temporada, acho que é válido.

A chegada do zagueiro também anima o diretor de futebol do clube, Alexandre Gallo, que afirmou ter feito uma vasta análise sobre o uruguaio antes de fechar o negócio.

– Ele tem vários jogos na seleção de base, nós fizemos uma análise completa do que é o atleta, temos pessoas espalhadas pela América do Sul e temos uma análise de desempenho que acompanha tudo de forma completa – disse o dirigente, que não fechou as portas para novas contratações – Tudo pode acontecer, futebol é muito dinâmico – disse em entrevista à rádio 98 FM.

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MatériaMais Notícias

A reprovação das contas de 2018 pelo segundo mês seguido não foi bem recebida no Palmeiras. Para pessoas próximas à diretoria, a decisão do Conselho de Orientação e Fiscalização (COF) teve influência política, pois não há problema de caixa e o clube deve terminar, inclusive, o semestre com um superávit de cerca de R$ 40 milhões.

O COF até aqui recusou os balancetes de janeiro e fevereiro, que apresentam um déficit de R$ 15,9 milhões no período. Nas próximas semanas serão avaliados os números dos meses seguintes, mas com as vendas de jogadores no meio do ano há a estimativa no clube deste superávit no acumulado até junho.

Outro ponto questionado pelos cofistas foi o gasto acima do previsto no orçamento de 2018 em R$ 26 milhões nos dois primeiros meses. Neste caso, também, fontes ligadas ao Palmeiras citam que até junho o faturamento chega aos R$ 370 milhões, o que já representa cerca de 80% das receitas do ano inteiro na mesma previsão orçamentária.

Estes números ainda serão apresentados ao COF, mas o principal motivo de insatisfação no órgão segue sendo os aditivos nos contratos da Crefisa. Eles questionam o presidente Maurício Galiotte pelo acordo que transformou em empréstimo os R$ 120 milhões investidos pela patrocinadora em reforços.

Por conta desta alteração, a dívida do clube sofreu um aumento de R$ 98 milhões entre dezembro e fevereiro. Desde a assinatura dos aditivos, Galiotte argumenta que o débito está coberto, por ser atrelado aos jogadores. O COF contesta por dizer que o presidente não respeitou a hierarquia interna, ao tomar um empréstimo acima de 10% da receita prevista no ano sem consultar o órgão.

O presidente e seus pares afirmam que as alterações no contrato com a Crefisa foram feitas antes desta norma passar a valer e que há motivação política na reprovação das contas. Mustafá Contursi é um dos membros mais influentes do COF e tornou-se desafeto de Leila Pereira, presidente da Crefisa, e conselheira do clube, eleita com votação recorde pela chapa do agora inimigo.

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ESPNcricinfo previews the third ODI between Zimbabwe and New Zealand in Harare

The Preview by George Binoy24-Oct-2011Match FactsZimbabwe v New Zealand, October 25, Bulawayo
Start time 0930 (0730 GMT)Brendan Taylor has scored as many runs as the rest of Zimbabwe’s batsmen combined in this series•Associated PressBig PictureFor New Zealand to complete an all-round annihilation of Zimbabwe in this one-day series they need to achieve only one more thing – dismiss Brendan Taylor, for cheap.During comprehensive victories in the first two ODIs, New Zealand denied Zimbabwe’s bowlers wickets, scored with ease, benefitted from an extraordinary number of dropped catches, and ran through ten of their batsmen without too much trouble. Only Taylor has stood up to them, twice, with unbeaten centuries that dragged Zimbabwe from despair to totals that could have been defended, if his bowlers and fielders had stood by him.The third ODI in Bulawayo is the last chance for Zimbabwe’s batsmen to find form ahead of the only Test against New Zealand at the same venue. They adopted different approaches in the previous two games but both failed. In the first one-dayer, Zimbabwe’s top order tried to be aggressive but lost wickets early and quickly. In the second, they were cautious and slow at the start, but lost several wickets as the pressure to accelerate grew. Both times Taylor bailed them out with assistance from one sidekick. Zimbabwe need for Taylor to be able to launch the innings without him needing to repair it as well.Though they managed only one New Zealand wicket in the first 37 overs of the second ODI, Zimbabwe’s bowlers did create several chances. Keegan Meth, whose mix of in-and-out swing New Zealand found hard to read, had a couple of close lbw shouts turned down, and then their fielders dropped Brendon McCullum not once, or twice but four times. Zimbabwe’s out-cricket, which was a hallmark of their tenacious teams of the late 1990s, had deteriorated to worrying standards.New Zealand have only one area of concern going into the third ODI. Their middle and lower-order batsmen haven’t had enough time in the middle. Rob Nicol, Martin Guptill and McCullum have been greedy so far but New Zealand do have a tour game ahead of the Test to give the rest of their batsmen some match practice.Form guide (most recent first)
Zimbabwe: LLLLL
New Zealand: WWLWLIn the spotlightKeegan Meth’s return to the team for the second ODI, after recovering from a severe mouth injury, was an impressive one. He scored an aggressive 20 in the lower order before bowling a testing opening spell. Meth has the gift of swinging the ball both ways at medium-pace and the use of a new ball from either end increases his effectiveness. He also has pluck, and Zimbabwe could use more cricketers like him.New Zealand’s middle-order batsmen haven’t had much to do in this series. The match was all but won when they got a small opportunity in the second ODI and three of them got out cheaply, giving Zimbabwe the faintest of hopes. It was left to Kane Williamson and Jacob Oram, batting at No. 8, to secure victory. Ross Taylor and co will want to be more clinical if given the chance in Bulawayo.Team newsFast bowler Chris Mpofu had a poor second ODI, conceding 49 in 7.2 overs for one wicket. Zimbabwe could replace him with Kyle Jarvis.Zimbabwe: (probable): 1 Hamilton Masakadza, 2 Vusi Sibanda, 3 Brendan Taylor (capt), 4 Tatenda Taibu, 5 Forster Mutizwa (wk), 6 Malcolm Waller, 7 Elton Chigumbura, 8 Keegan Meth, 9 Prosper Utseya, 10 Ray Price, 11 Chris Mpofu/Kyle Jarvis.New Zealand had rested fast bowler Kyle Mills from the previous game because he had a slight groin strain. If they decide to play him, Mills could replace any one of Doug Bracewell, Graeme Aldridge or Andy McKay. Since New Zealand have already won the series, they might consider giving their inexperienced new-ball attack of Bracewell and Aldridge more match practice.They also played an all-seam attack in the previous game and a spinner, most likely Nathan McCullum, could come in if the Bulawayo surface is slower. Jesse Ryder could return for BJ Watling if he has recovered from his stomach bug.New Zealand (probable): 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Rob Nicol, 3 Brendon McCullum (wk), 4 Jesse Ryder/BJ Watling, 5 Ross Taylor (capt), 6 Kane Williamson, 7 James Franklin, 8 Jacob Oram, 9 Nathan McCullum/Kyle Mills/Andy McKay, 10 Doug Bracewell, 11 Graeme Aldridge.Stats and trivia Zimbabwe have lost their previous five matches in Bulawayo – four ODIs and a Test. Before that, they had beaten a second-string Indian side by six wickets in an ODI in May 2010. Brendan Taylor has scored 235 runs in the ODI series, which is equal to the aggregate runs scored by all of Zimbabwe’s other batsmen.Quotes”It was slightly better today but we’re up against a good side so it’s always going to be tough whatever total you post, then when the wicket flattens out it’s always going to be hard defending.”

خطف كريستال بالاس تعادلاً قاتلاً من مانشستر يونايتد في المباراة التي جمعت الفريقين مساء الأربعاء، بالدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز لتنتهي بهدف لمثله.

وحل مانشستر يونايتد ضيفًا على كريستال بالاس في مباراة مؤجلة بين الفريقين من الجولة السابعة للبريميرليج. أهداف مباراة مانشستر يونايتد وكريستال بالاس

ووقعت مشادة كلامية طفيفية بين ثنائي مانشستر يونايتد، أنتوني وبرونو فرنانديز، بعد خطأ في التمرير. مشادة برونو فرنانديز وأنتوني في مباراة مانشستر يونايتد وكريستال بالاس

ثم مرر كريستيان إريكسن كرة دقيقة وصلت لبرونو فرنانديز ليسجل البرتغالي هدف التقدم لمانشستر يونايتد في الدقيقة 43.

وأجرى إريك تين هاج تبديلين لـمانشستر يونايتد في الدقيقة 69، ودفع ماكتوميناي وجارانتشو بدلاً من فيجورست وأنتوني.

بالدقيقة 83 دفع المدرب الهولندي بلاعبه فريد بدلاً من كريستيان إريكسن، في تبديل ثالث لمانشستر يونايتد.

وخطف مايكل أوليز هدفًا قاتلًا لكريستال بالاس في الدقيقة الأولى من الوقت المحتسب بدلًا من الضائع.

انتهت المباراة بالتعادل الإيجابي بهدف لمثله، ليصبح رصيد مانشستر يونايتد 39 نقطة في المركز الثالث، خلف مانشستر سيتي الذي يملك 39 نقطة أيضًا والذي يلاقي توتنهام ليلة الخميس.

وكريستال بالاس لديه 23 نقطة في المركز 12 بجدول الترتيب الذي يتصدره آرسنال بـ 47 نقطة.

Kuwait consolidated their position at the top of the World Cricket League Division 7 points table, beating Nigeria convincingly by nine wickets with all of 25 overs to spare

ESPNcricinfo staff04-May-2011

Kuwait consolidated their position at the top of the World Cricket League Division 7 points table, beating Nigeria convincingly by nine wickets with all of 25 overs to spare at the Lobatse Cricket Ground.Being asked to bat, Nigeria’s line-up crumbled against the medium pace of Saad Khalid. The slide was initiated by left-armer Mohammad Murad, who sent back opener Ramit Gill for a duck. From there on, Khalid, with the rest of the bowlers offering solid support, ran through Nigeria, finishing with figures of 5 for 24 in 6.4 overs. The only batsman to show any resistance was Sean Philips, who contributed almost half the total with 75, as Nigeria folded for 153. Kuwait were clinical in the chase, Irfan Bhatti and Saud Qamar putting together an unbroken 128-run stand after an early wicket, to take their side home comfortably.Khalid, who was named Man of the Match said his side will look to continue their winning run. “It is obviously great to make it three wins out of three in the tournament, but we can’t rest on today’s win,” he said. “We face Germany tomorrow [Thursday] and we know they’ll want a good match, especially since they lost to us in the final of Division 8 [Kuwait and Germany finished on top in Division 8, to qualify for the Division 7 tournament].”Hosts Botswana got past Germany by two wickets in a close game at the Botswana Cricket Association Oval 1 in Gaborone.Botswana began ideally in the field, after captain Akrum Chand chose to bowl, with Waseem Tajbhay running out Milan Fernando for a duck and Omar Ali castling Andre Leslie for 1, to leave Germany 2 for 2 in the third over. A patient 148-run stand between Asif Khan and Farooq Ahmed got the innings back on track though. The pair was dismissed in quick succession, but Rishi Pillai added another 47, to make sure Germany posted a competitive total. Ali was the pick of the bowlers, finishing with 3 for 43. Botswana, like Germany, were in trouble early on in their innings, being 8 for 2 and then 28 for 3, before a steadying 87-run stand between Denzil Sequeira and Karabo Modise. Modise, was run out on 65, but the lower-middle order played around Ali – who struck 45 off 40 balls – to help the hosts sneak home with 11 deliveries to spare.Man-of-the-Match Ali said the win was the result of positive cricket. “When I saw Karabo going out there and playing with a positive attitude, I decided that when I went out there [to bat] I would go with the same attitude and it paid off.”Norway registered their first win of the tournament, defeating Japan by 53 runs at the Botswana Cricket Association Oval 2, on the back of an excellent all-round performance by Shahbaz Butt.Japan inserted Norway in to bat, and were able to pick up wickets at regular intervals to begin with, leaving Norway 81 for 5 in the 22nd over. That’s when they came up against Butt, who put on 125 runs for the sixth wicket with Iftikhar Suhael. Patrick Giles-Jones, who finished with 4 for 48, took a return catch to get rid of Suhael for 53, but Butt carried on, steering Norway towards sizeable total before falling two short of his century. He continued to trouble Japan during the chase, running through their middle order with his maiden hat-trick. While a few of the Japan batsman got starts, only Ko Irie managed to build an innings of substance, remaining 56 not out as Japan folded for 191 in the 49th over.”I just knew I had to stay in there and make the runs for as long as possible and stay in the game for as long as possible which I did,” Man-of-the-Match Shahbaz said. “I was also really happy with the way I bowled. That’s not to say Japan didn’t challenge us today, they put up a good fight with both bat and ball but ultimately we came out on top.”

Glasgow Rangers media have been left hailing the display of Alex Lowry in their 4-1 win in at home in the Scottish Premiership on Wednesday night.

The Lowdown: Not enough

Even though it was a convincing win against Ross County in front of their own supporters at Ibrox, it was ultimately not enough as rivals Celtic clinched the SPFL title with a 1-1 draw away at Dundee United.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/rangers-news-4/” title=”Rangers news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

Scott Wright, James Tavernier, Fashion Sakala and Amad Diallo managed to get themselves on the scoresheet, as Jordan White struck for the visitors.

The Latest: Lowry hailed

Taking to Twitter, renowned Teddy Bears podcasters Heart & Hand were particularly in awe of Lowry’s performance, claiming that he ‘can be anything he wants’ in the game.

Light Blues bloggers Four Lads Had a Dream were also blown away by his display, claiming that he was an ‘absolute delight’ to watch.

The Verdict: Great prospect

At just 18 years of age, Lowry is certainly a great prospect for the Gers, having impressed with the first team already.

The Scotsman had a game-high six shots on goal in total, made two key passes, four accurate long balls and recorded 72 touches, the fifth-most out of any player on the pitch (SofaScore).

Nonetheless, he needs to keep on impressing van Bronckhorst, and with a huge UEFA Europa League final up against Frankfurt to come, could he write his name in history with an impact in Seville?

In other news, find out what ‘huge’ RFC update has now emerged here!

MatériaMais Notícias

O uruguaio Diego Aguirre tem apenas três jogos no comando do São Paulo (duas vitórias e um empate). Apesar do pouco tempo (nove dias) trabalhando em seu novo clube e do espaço curto entre as partidas, o treinador já conseguiu implantar algo muito importante para a equipe: a mudança de postura e o espírito combativo dos jogadores dentro de campo.

Quando assumiu o clube do Morumbi, o comandante avisou que não teria tempo para implantar conceitos táticos na equipe, pelo menos para a reta final do Campeonato Paulista. Em seu discurso, o uruguaio afirmou que cobraria empenho de seus comandados e, principalmente, competitividade.

Tecnicamente, comparadas as atuações do São Paulo, antes treinado por Dorival Júnior, com o São Paulo de Aguirre, quase nada mudou no estilo de jogo. Contudo, a mudança de postura tem sido fundamental para a equipe estar a apenas um empate de carimbar seu passaporte para a final do Campeonato Paulista.

– Empenho e dedicação é o que ele (Aguirre) mais cobrado, mais tem nos exigido. Ele teve uma conversa comigo e falou que queria isso em campo. Acredito que nesse sentido ele fica muito feliz porque a equipe lutou, se desdobrou e ganhou quase todas as divididas e segundas bolas. Vamos descansar porque temos um jogo muito difícil na quarta-feira – afirmou o volante Petros ao ser questionado sobre as instruções passadas pelo treinador antes da bola rolar no Morumbi.

Nos dois últimos jogos do São Paulo (contra São Caetano e Corinthians), a equipe não brilhou, mas teve garra e, por isso, alcançou seus objetivos. Os jogadores brigaram por cada bola perdida, vibraram dentro de campo e conseguiram se impôr perante os adversários.

Impossível saber se o Tricolor eliminará seu maior rival, em plena Arena Corinthians, onde nunca venceu, e disputará a final do Campeonato Paulista após 15 anos. Contudo, o caminho para conseguir a classificação é conhecido do São Paulo. Se mantiver o ritmo, a equipe de Diego Aguirre pode fazer história e deixar de ser tão criticada.

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Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
It was business as usual for Virender Sehwag•AFP

New Zealand were given an early glimpse of the difficult task ahead of them in India as the home team moved into a commanding position on the first day in Ahmedabad. Virender Sehwag sprinted to a century in just over a session while Rahul Dravid compiled an old-school Test hundred – starting off cautiously and opening up once set – to put India on course for a mammoth first-innings total.India were thrilled at winning the toss on a track with little in it for either spinners or the quicks: MS Dhoni had a huge grin when he said, “Well, of course we want to bat,” while Harbhajan Singh, watching from the boundary, threw his hands up in jubilation on hearing the news.After that, it was a Sehwag treat for the sprinkling of fans who had turned up at Motera. In the third over, he jokingly signaled for a free-hit after Chris Martin overstepped. There aren’t any in Tests, but that didn’t stop Sehwag from carving the next delivery through covers for four to get his first runs. Two more off-side boundaries rounded off the over, and there was no slowing him down after that, despite several short deliveries to stop the drives.Sehwag predominantly scored through the off side, cutting deliveries that were even fractionally wide, and skipping away from the stumps to play inside-out shots off the spinners. Despite going at a run-a-ball, there was none of the violence usually associated with that rate of scoring; he relied mostly on timing and placement as he peppered the off side for 18 boundaries.India were 60 for 0 in the 12th over, the New Zealand attack was looking blunt, and Sehwag was enjoying himself, laughing after slipping while taking a single. Part-timer Jesse Ryder, though, got the final delivery of that over to move in a touch and had Gautam Gambhir inside-edging onto the stumps. It ended an innings where Gambhir had struggled for fluency as he searched for his form of 2009. He fed on leg-side offerings from debutant Hamish Bennett, who bowled with plenty of pace but didn’t trouble the batsmen too much.

Smart Stats

• During their 60-run stand for the opening wicket, Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag became India’s most prolific opening pair, going past the aggregate of Sunil Gavaskar and Chetan Chauhan. Their batting average is third in the list of most successful opening pairs (minimum 3000 runs).

• Sehwag made his 14th score of over 150 in Tests, bringing him level fourth with Ricky Ponting and Steve Waugh. Only Sachin Tendulkar (20), Brian Lara (19) and Don Bradman (18) are above him.

• The double-century partnership between Dravid and Sehwag was the 15th time that Dravid was involved in a 200-plus stand and the 12th such occasion for Sehwag. Sachin Tendulkar holds the record among Indian batsmen having been involved in 18 such stands.

• Dravid’s century was his 30th in Tests, taking him past Don Bradman and level sixth with Matthew Hayden on the list of batsmen with most Test centuries.

• Dravid’s century was India’s 400th in Tests and their 132nd century since Jan 1 2000.

Sehwag was unfazed by the loss of Gambhir, taking two fours an over off offspinner Jeetan Patel three times, and galloped to 82 with 15 minutes to go for lunch but couldn’t become only the fifth batsman to make a century in the first session of a match.Dravid, though, was struggling for runs: he was middling many deliveries but stroking them straight to the fielders. His recent form has been a bit of concern – just one half-century in his previous nine innings – and those worries remained as he scratched his way to 20 off 106 deliveries against a weak attack on a flat track. A couple of boundaries off Ryder midway through the session finally gave him some momentum after which he was more aggressive.Sehwag had also toned down his aggression after lunch, and seemed to be struggling with his fitness; he rarely zipped through between the wickets, preferring to jog whenever possible and asked for a runner after tea. He was hardly bothered by the bowling till he was well past his fifth Test hundred of the year – a near run-out in the sixth over being the only major moment of concern.Towards tea, though, he was tiring and offered a slew of opportunities to New Zealand: when on 144 he survived a close lbw call against Daniel Vettori after missing a reverse-sweep, a sharp caught-and-bowled chance in the next over and Bennett misjudged a catch at long-on in the final over before tea. The simplest opportunity came soon after the break when substitute Martin Guptill dropped a skier at midwicket.As Sehwag slacked, Dravid took charge. The sumptuous cuts of old were back, especially against the spinners, and there were several types of on-drives for four as well. He was hit on the head by a Bennett bouncer, but two deliveries later he contemptuously pulled a short ball for four.Sehwag was bowled by Vettori while lazily attempting an inside-out drive, but Dravid reached his 30th Test hundred soon after, moving past Don Bradman in the list of highest century-makers. He had taken only 64 deliveries for his second fifty; his first had come off 151. Though he was dismissed for 104 in familiar fashion – bottom-edging a cut – the 237-run stand with Sehwag had already put India in charge.New Zealand’s bowling was average, with the spinners not extracting much turn and the quick bowlers, Chris Martin and Bennett, rarely beating the bat on the slow track. The talk in the lead-up to the series had been about how New Zealand will be able to take 20 wickets in a Test against the Indian batting juggernaut, and that is a question their think-tank will be pondering over after the first day.