& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

Astle leads NZ reply

Cricket

AFP, Ahmedabad
Nathan Astle hit a defiant 103 under pressure to help New Zealand stay on course to avoid the follow-on in the first cricket Test against India here on Friday.
The middle-order batsman's ninth Test century enabled the tourists reach 282-8 at stumps on the third day in reply to India's first-innings total of 500-5 declared at the Sardar Patel Stadium.
New Zealand still require 19 more to make India bat again with two wickets in hand. Daniel Vettori was batting on 28 with Paul Wiseman (8).
"It was nice to come back and get another century at this ground," said Astle, who made a hundred here in the opening match of the 1996 World Cup.
"I just wanted to play my natural game and try to make India bat again.
"I will be a lot happier if we get the 19 runs tomorrow to avoid the follow-on. Because if we follow-on it is going to be very tough.
"The wicket is still good for batting, but the heat is beginning to get to us."
India had a chance to wrap up the New Zealand innings when they reduced the tourists to 227-7, but Vettori and wicketkeeper Robbie Hart frustrated the hosts with a 38-run stand for the eighth wicket.
India struggled for wickets on an easy-paced track after left-arm fast bowler Zaheer Khan sent New Zealand reeling at 17-3 with three quick wickets on Thursday evening.
Astle played a big role in pulling his team out of deep trouble, adding 91 for the fourth wicket with Scott Styris (34) and as many runs for the fifth with Craig McMillan (54).
SCOREBOARD
Scoreboard at stumps on the third day of the first Test between India and New Zealand at the Sardar Patel Stadium on Friday:
INDIA: First innings 500-5 decl (R Dravid 222, S Ganguly 100 not out, D Vettori 2-128)
NEW ZEALAND: First innings (overnight 41-3)
Richardson b Zaheer 6
Vincent c Patel b Zaheer 7
Fleming b Zaheer 1
Styris c Chopra b Harbhajan 34
Astle st Patel b Harbhajan 103 McMillan c Chopra b Sehwag 54
Oram c Dravid b Kumble 5
Hart lbw b Balaji 15
Vettori not out 28
Wiseman not out 8
Extras: (b-4, lb-13, nb-4) 21
Total: (For eight wkts in 109 overs) 282
Fall of wickets: 1-11, 2-16, 3-17, 4-108, 5-199, 6-223, 7-227, 8-265.
Bowler O M R W
Zaheer 18 3 50 3
Balaji 23 6 71 1
Kumble 27 9 47 1
Harbhajan 33 7 8 0
2
Sehwag 8 2 17 1
Toss: India
Umpires: David Shepherd (ENG) and Rudi Koertzen (RSA)
TV umpire: Hariharan (IND)
Match-referee: Ranjan Madugalle (SRI)