Fantastico McCullum Slams the Fastest Test 100 in his Final Test!!

Some men write their own destiny, end their careers on a high. Not many sportsmen can time it perfectly and almost every great hero lives just long enough to become a villain. Bradman needed just four in his last test innings to finish with a test average of 100, he made a duck. Javed Miandad and Aravinda De Silva, arguably the finest batsman their countries had produced, played their last matches in the World Cup in 1996 and 2003 respectively, both ending on the losing side and going out in anonymity.

This was Brendon McCullum's last match, his 101st and he walked in to bat with New Zealand in huge trouble at 32-3 in the 20th over. His successor, and master batsman, Kane Williamson was struggling to even properly lay bat on ball on a green pitch - he was on 3 off 44 balls when Baz walked out to a guard of honour given by the Aussie's.

McCullum heaved wildly off his first ball and missed and on the second attempt the ball flew over the slips for a fortunate boundary. This looked like it would end very quickly. When Smith called upon Marsh just minutes before the lunch break, McCullum launched a vicious attack on the bowler. A straight six, cuts, cover drives and to round off another gob smacking six over wide extra cover to take 21 off the over! Easy-Peasy!!

He slashed at a wide Pattinson delivery and Marsh flung himself to take a stunner but Pattinson had overstepped, Baz reprieved on 39. That was probably the break that he needed and the mood that he was in, his shots only got bolder and more outrageous! He brought up his fifty off 34 balls with a heave down the ground that flew over Bird's head for a straight six. McCullum was by now an almost unstoppable force, playing a high impact innings in his last test.

He kept swinging his willow like a madman but kept evading the fielder's. He brought up his 100 of just 54 balls, the fastest ever, with a four over extra cover and raised his bat to a standing ovation from the crowd at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch. He beat the record set by the enigmatic Viv Richards in 1985-86 against England off 56 balls and which was then equalled by Misbah ul Haq against the Australian's in 2014.

He eventually finished on 145 off just 79 balls and his 179 run partnership with Corey Anderson waltzed New Zealand to 370 in just 65 overs on a green top where the ball swung extravagantly but a determined batsman in his last test swung his willow more decisively in the end.

His cavalier approach and thrill-a-minute style will be sorely missed and one can only wonder why he did not choose to play the upcoming World T20! Captain Fantastico and a batsman who lived by the sword and died by it, Baz, you will be sorely missed!!

This blog post is inspired by the blogging marathon hosted on IndiBlogger for the launch of the #Fantastico Zica from Tata Motors. You can apply for a test drive of the hatchback Zica today.

3 Fantastico Battles that could Impact the 2nd Test between Aus and NZ

Australia won the first test convincingly but the no ball fiasco surrounding umpire Richard Illingworth, where he adjudged a Bracewell delivery to be a no ball, off which Adam Voges was cleaned bowled for just 7, and then went on to make a game changing 239, hogged most of the post-match discussions and headlines.

The second and the final match in this two match series will be the Kiwi captain McCullum's final test and the entire New Zealand team will be keen to give their inspirational leader a farewell victory just like they had done in the final ODI match of the Chappell-Hadlee series, defending 246 runs with all their heart and might.

Let us look at the 3 Fantastico battles that might impact the outcome of the second test between Australia and New Zealand.

Josh Hazlewood Vs Kane Williamson

Josh Hazlewood has been a consistent performer for the Australian team since the past one year or so. His ability to keep the ball on and around the off stump and then swing it both ways has led to the downfall of many a batsman in recent times. He was their best bowler in the Chappell-Hadlee ODI series and in the first test he wreaked havoc on the Kiwi top order snaffling 4 wickets in no time in their first innings.

Kane Williamson is one batsman who is well equipped to play the swinging ball and come out on top but he too had an average first test making just 16 and 22, as he fell to Hazlewood in both the innings. It was Williamson who had tormented the Aussie bowlers in their two test series last year with an avalanche of runs and proving almost impossible to dislodge. Williamson will have to play a high impact innings so that the Kiwi's don't lose a bunch of wickets in the middle overs since it is already significantly weakened by the absence of Ross Taylor.

Nathan Lyon Vs Brendon McCullum

Nathan Lyon might seem to the naked eye to be an innocuous bowler and somebody who could be easily handled. But with a classical off spinner’s action he manages to put enough revolutions on the ball to spin it viciously. He also gets dangerous drift and dip which can be very difficult to negotiate for any batsman along with the extra bounce which he generates due to his high arm action. Brendon McCullum is someone who likes to go after the bowlers and he will certainly not hold back in his final international appearance for the Black Caps. A Lyon-McCullum battle promises to be a fascinating one, with Lyon on the top of his game as a spinner, not afraid to flight the ball, and McCullum not one to hold back and known for his outrageous hitting.

Trent Boult and Tim Southee Vs The Aussie Top Order

Southee and Boult are a dangerous bowling pair - right and left handed, ability to swing the ball both ways and always homing in on the batsman's stumps. It has been their Fantastico pairing that has been one of the biggest reasons for the upsurge of the Kiwi's under McCullum. The Aussie top order will be constantly under fire and pressure when these two champion bowlers will have the ball in their hands and it will be important for them to not loose early wickets to this pair because if that happens then they are most likely to run through their entire batting line up. It promises to be another lip smacking battle that is on the cards when the second test between the Trans-Tasman rivals starts.

This blog post is inspired by the blogging marathon hosted on IndiBlogger for the launch of the #Fantastico Zica from Tata Motors. You can apply for a test drive of the hatchback Zica today.