(REUTERS) – Rahul Dravid and Mahendra Singh Dhoni batted with supreme authority to steer India into a huge lead after New Zealand bowlers had picked up three early wickets on the third day of the deciding Test match yesterday.
India declared their first innings at 566 for eight with a lead of 373 runs, leaving New Zealand to face a tricky 12 overs before the end of the day’s play.
Dravid stood tall with his 31st Test hundred while captain Dhoni fell two short of his fifth hundred in Tests as they stitched together a 193-run partnership for the sixth wicket.
The duo’s efforts ensured New Zealand would have a tough task to save the Test and the series, with more than two days left in the match.
The right-handed Dravid (191) got to the coveted century mark with a flicked two, 10 minutes before lunch at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium.
The 37-year-old missed his double hundred by nine runs when he holed out to Martin Guptill at long-off trying to hit part-time off-spinner Kane Williamson out of the ground.
Dhoni (98), who had been short of runs heading into the match, joined Dravid at the crease after the hosts had lost Sachin Tendulkar, Vangipurappu Laxman and Suresh Raina cheaply.
The pin-up boy of Indian cricket then stepped on the pedal with some lusty hits to demoralise the New Zealand bowlers. He hit 12 boundaries and a six in his knock, before offering a tame return catch to Daniel Vettori.
The tourists had a couple of half-chances in the day but the fielders failed to cling on, making it more difficult for the under-assault bowlers.
Tendulkar (61) could add just four runs to his overnight score before he edged debutant Andy McKay to wicketkeeper Gareth Hopkins to become the left-arm seamer’s first Test wicket.
Laxman followed soon after as Chris Martin bowled a big inswinger to breach his defence while New Zealand captain Vettori dismissed Raina through a bat-pad catch at silly mid-on.
The three-Test series is tied at 0-0 after two draws.

NEW ZEALAND first innings (J. Ryder 59; I. Sharma 4-43, P. Ojha 3-57)
INDIA first innings (o/n 292-2)
G. Gambhir c Taylor b Southee    78
V. Sehwag c & b Vettori    74
R. Dravid c Guptill b Williamson    191
S. Tendulkar c Hopkins b McKay    61
VVS Laxman b Martin    12
S. Raina c sub. b Vettori    3
MS Dhoni c & b Vettori    98
H. Singh c McCullum b Martin    20
I. Sharma not out    7
S. Sreesanth not out    0
Extras: (b-12, lb-5, w-4, nb-1)    22
Total: (eight wkts decl., 165 overs)    566
Fall of wickets: 1-113, 2-192, 3-296, 4-309, 5-328, 6-52,1 7-549, 8-562.
Bowling: Martin 28-4-82-2 (w-2, nb-1), Southee 29-5-94-1 (w-1), McKay 31-5-120-1 (w-1), Vettori 58-7-178-3, Williamson 11-0-45-1, Guptill 7-0-27-0, Taylor 1-0-3-0

NEW ZEALAND second innings
T. McIntosh lbw b Harbhajan    8
B. McCullum not out    15
G. Hopkins not out    1
Extras: 0
Total: (one wicket, 11 overs)    24
Fall of wicket: 1-18.
Bowling (to date): Sreesanth 3-1-13-0, Sharma 2-2-0-0, Ojha 3-1-2-0, Harbhajan 3-0-9-1.