By IANS,
Wellington : Zaheer Khan Saturday became the second Indian to claim three
five-wicket hauls in New Zealand.
Zaheer took five for 65 to help India bowl out New Zealand for 197 in the first innings.
Zaheer thus become the second Indian bowler after Erapalli Prasanna to take five wickets in an innings three times in New Zealand.
# Zaheer also became the first bowler to take five wickets in an innings twice for India at Basin Reserve. In New Zealand’s first innings of 247 in the 2002-03 Wellington Test, he had taken five wickets for 53 runs off 25 overs.
# It was Zaheer’s seventh five-wicket haul.
Other highlights of second day’s play
# Chris Martin’s bowling figures of 4/98 are his best against India, eclipsing the 3 for 89 at Napier.
# Harbhajan Singh (3/43) has registered his best bowling figures at Basin Reserve, Wellington, surpassing the 2 for 33 in 2002-03. Harbhajan had failed to claim a wicket in the 1998-99 Wellington Test.
# With 12 wickets at 23.58 runs apiece, Harbhajan is the leading Indian wicket-taker in the 2008-09 series – his best bowling performance in a rubber against New Zealand.
# Harbhajan, in ten Tests against New Zealand, has captured 29 wickets at an average of 32.58.
# New Zealand (197), for the fourth time against India at Basin Reserve, have been dismissed under 200 – their previous three instances being 100 in 1980-81 and 186 & 199 in 1967-68.
# Ishant Sharma (18 off 31 balls) posted his second best score in Tests, next only to his 23 against Australia at SCG in January 2008.
# Ishant and Munaf Patel put on 32 runs – India’s best for the tenth wicket against New Zealand at Wellington, bettering the 31 between Bishan Singh Bedi and V. Subramanya in February 1968.
# Gautam Gambhir became the third batsman in the present series to have amassed 300 runs – 306 at an average of 76.50.
# Gambhir became the only Indian batsman to make 300 runs or more in the last four Test series.
# Mahendra Singh Dhoni became the first wicketkeeper to take six catches in an innings for India.
# Dhoni became the second wicketkeeper after Syed Kirmani (vs. New Zealand at Christchurch in 1975-76) to effect six dismissals (5 ct. + 1 st.) in an innings for India.
# Dhoni became the third wicketkeeper after South Africa’s Dennis Lindsay and Mark Boucher to post a half-century and effect six dismissals in an innings in the same Test match.