Munaf makes presence felt

RAJKOT: Untested speedster Munaf Patel''s middle-order breakthrough was not enough to tilt the balance in favour of India A as opener Mark Richardson compiled a chanceless knock of 128 to see the visiting New Zealand side finish the opening day at a comfortable score of 299 for 5 at the RMC ground here on Thursday.
The tall 20-year-old lad from Bharuch had the Kiwis on their knees when he took three wicket, including that of skipper Stephen Fleming, in the space of 13 deliveries just after lunch.However, Richardson''s very disciplined innings that was made during the full duration of play, anchored the New Zealand side through the storm that Munaf and fellow medium pacers Sreesanth and RP Singh had whipped up on a conducive surface.
The 32-year-old south paw, who has two Test hundreds and a highest first class knock of 306 under his belt, cobbled together two useful stands; first with Craig MacMillan (30) and then with Jacob Oram, who also remained unbeaten on 59 (6x4, 2x6, 126mins). Richardson''s century was studded with 18 well-struck boundaries and a six.
Coming off from long break, the Kiwi opening duo of Richardson and Lou Vincent took things easy in the morning to see off the threat from the medium pacers. But then left-arm spinner Murali Kartik struck a telling blow on the morale of the visitors with his very first delivery in the match when he floated one around Vincent''s legs to castle the clueless Kiwi opener. Thereafter, Kartik held the visiting batsmen on a tight leash. After lunch, Fleming was looking his classy self while tackling the wily craft that Kartik was plying and negotiating the rookie pacemen.
New Zealand (1st innings): M Richardson batting 128, L Vincent b Kartik 11, S Fleming b Patel 27, S Styris c Dasgupta b Patel 8, N Astel lbw b Patel 0, C McMillan c Chopra b Sreesanth 30, J Oram batting 59 Extras: (b-4, lb-12, nb-20) 36. Total: (for 5 wkts in 80 overs) 299. Fall of wickets: 1-32, 2-79, 3-91, 4-91, 5-180. Bowling: Patel 19.4-4-64-3, R P Singh 19.2-4-68-0, Sreesanth 12.5-5-22-1, Kartik 29-3-98-1, Ramesh 5.1-2-18-0, Gavaskar 4-0-13-0.