Dravid hits ton for Canterbury

Canterbury 388 for 5 (Dravid 102, Papps 127, Myburgh 104*) v Central Districts
Scorecard

Wellington 94 for 5 trail Otago 174 (Laxman 20) by 80 runs
Scorecard

Rahul Dravid ran into form ahead of the Test series with a hundred but the other Indians who turned out in New Zealand's State Championship on Friday weren't so lucky. VVS Laxman couldn't convert his start, L Balaji was economical but picked up just the one wicket and Amit Mishra went wicketless. Dravid, playing for Canterbury, turned out against Mishra's Central Districts while Laxman, representing Otago, faced up to Wellington's Balaji.

Dravid entered the park in the 26th over with Canterbury on 90. He reached his 50 in 133 minutes from 103 balls. By tea he moved to 76 and brought up his hundred in 160 balls with the help of 13 fours. However, he fell immediately after raising the landmark, falling to the seamer Brendon Diamanti. Mishra finished wicketless from 28 overs. Canterbury reached 388 for 5 by the end of the day with Michael Papps and Johann Myburgh also scoring hundreds.

Laxman, however, didn't have a great day. He batted cautiously for 69 minutes before falling for 20. Balaji finished the day with figures of 15-4-39-1. His team-mate Michael Burns, who dismissed Laxman, finished with 4 for 41.

Six Indian players are participating in the tournament to get some practice ahead of the three-Test series. Four players are playing this round while Dhawal Kulkarni and M Vijay will take part in the next round, beginning March 13.

March 6 - March 9
Rahul Dravid - Canterbury v Central Districts
Amit Mishra - Canterbury v Central Districts
VVS Laxman - Otago v Wellington
L Balaji - Otago v Wellington

March 13 - March 16
Dhawal Kulkarni and M Vijay - Central Districts v Wellington