Gautam Gambhir made 114 and Sachin Tendulkar hit an unbeaten 100 as India batted out the final day to draw the first cricket Test against Sri Lanka here Friday. India easily wiped out a huge first innings deficit of 334 runs as it scored 412-4 in its second knock before the high-scoring Test was called off with six overs remaining on the fifth day. Tendulkar, 36, set a new benchmark of 30,000 international runs at the start of his third decade in the game to frustrate Sri Lanka's bid to win its first Test on Indian soil. Tendulkar, the world's leading Test and one-day scorer, reached the landmark when he turned Chanaka Welegedara to square-leg for a single to reach 35 soon after lunch. He ended the match with a Test career tally of 12,877 runs, building on the 17,188 one-day and 10 Twenty20 runs he has scored since making his debut on Nov. 15, 1989 against Pakistan in Karachi. Tendulkar, who smashed his 43rd Test century, put on 66 for the fourth wicket with Gambhir and 137 for the unbroken fifth with Venkatsai Laxman, who returned unbeaten on 51. Sri Lanka's bowlers struggled to cope with the batsman-friendly pitch on which 1,598 runs were scored at the cost of just 21 wickets over the five days. World bowling record holder Muttiah Muralitharan failed to take a wicket in 38 overs which cost 124 runs and left-arm spinner Rangana Herath went for 2-97 in 40 overs. “It was a bit disappointing to draw the game,” said Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara. “It was a pretty flat track that did not have much for the bowlers.” Gambhir's seventh Test century was the third in successive matches this year after making 137 in Napier and 167 in Wellington on India's tour of New Zealand in March-April. The Delhi opener kept vigil for six hours and 37 minutes when he attempted to loft Herath soon after lunch and holed out to mid-off. Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said he was delighted by the way his team fought back after conceding a huge lead. “I am really proud of this achievement,” he said. “We had to handle our nerves and that is what we showed. It was not easy to bowl on this wicket but our bowlers bowled their hearts out. I expect this series to be very close.” India made 426 in the first innings after being 32-4 within the first hour of play and Sri Lanka replied with a mammoth 760-7 declared, the highest total ever scored on Indian soil. The second Test starts in Kanpur Tuesday. ODI rained off Rain caused the abandonment of the first One-Day International between South Africa and England at the Wanderers Stadium Friday. The second match is scheduled for Centurion Sunday. Bond returns to NZ team Star fast bowler Shane Bond has been recalled to the New Zealand Test squad to play Pakistan in the first two Tests of a three-match series. Bond's selection Friday follows a two-year absence from the New Zealand Test team due to injury and his participation last year in the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL). Also returning is pace bowler Daryl Tuffey. Tuffey and Bond have been joined in the squad by Test seamers Iain O'Brien and Chris Martin. The squad: Daniel Vettori (captain), Shane Bond, Grant Elliott, Daniel Flynn, Peter Fulton, Martin Guptill, Chris Martin, Brendon McCullum, Tim McIntosh, Iain O'Brien, Jeetan Patel, Ross Taylor, Daryl Tuffey. McIntosh hits century New Zealand opener Tim McIntosh batted himself into form for next week's first Test against Pakistan with an unbeaten century on the final day of a three-day match between the tourists and a New Zealand Invitation XI Friday. The left-handed McIntosh scored 131 not out as the invitation side, which had trailed Pakistan by 52 runs on the first innings, reached 231 for two in its second innings before stumps were drawn with no result in prospect. Paceman Abdur Rauf took one for 11 from six overs for Pakistan to finish with five wickets from the match.
