Hamilton (New Zealand), Mar. 20 : India were firmly placed in the driver’s seat on third day of the first Test against New Zealand being played at the Seddon Park in Hamilton, thanks to a master class 42nd Test ton by Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar.

Having started the day one run in arrears, India piled up a further 242 runs in two sessions before dismissing both New Zealand openers and Kyle Mills, the night-watchman, in 31 overs before stumps.

Hamilton (New Zealand), Mar. 20 : Former internationals are struggling to remember a better maiden test century than the one posted by Jesse Ryder against India in Hamilton this week.

Ryder''s 102 was his fourth successive 50-plus score in tests and came just 10 days after he posted his maiden one-day hundred in Christchurch.

Former Indian international Ravi Shastri marvelled at the way Ryder was able to adapt to his game to the match situation.

"I see him getting many more hundreds, but at the end of it all, he might just rate this as one of his best," Shastri said.

Hamilton (New Zealand), Mar. 20 : New Zealand fast bowler Chris Martin is of the view that except for Indian opener Virender Sehwag, most batters respect a decent ball when it is delivered to them.

"Bowling to the likes of Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar was not as daunting. Most of the players will respect a decent ball apart from Sehwag," a smiling Martin said.

Martin, who has played 46 Tests for New Zealand, is featuring in his first series against India.

London, March 20 : A rare three-eyed lizard, which has lineage dating back to the dinosaur age, has been found in Wellington, New Zealand.

According to a report by Sky News, the reptile known as a baby `Tuatara,' has three eyes, but is said to mostly resemble a lizard.

It was found by staff at the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary, but until then had not been spotted in the country for around 200 years.

Tuatara measure up to 80cm when fully grown and can live for up to 60 years.

Wellington  - New Zealand's Sir Edmund Hillary Outdoor Pursuits centre was ordered Friday to pay 480,000 New Zealand dollars (268,800 US dollars) in fines and compensation after six students and their teacher died in a flooded canyon.

The centre admitted charges that it failed to ensure the safety of a group from Auckland's Elim Christian College whose members were swept to their deaths April 15 in the Mangatepopo Gorge near Turangi in the central North Island.

Wellington  - The first tuatara reptile, a living fossil descendant of the dinosaurs, was born on mainland New Zealand after 200 years, it was reported on Friday.

The eight-centimetre-long baby was discovered at the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary in suburban Wellington on Thursday, captured for a historic photo opportunity and then released back into the bush.