India in NewZealand: 3rd Test : Review

41 years after a Indian side won a test series in New Zealand, Dhoni and his men have succesfully put records on their back and have rewritten history by winning the current series against New Zealand 1-0. It could easily have been 2-0 if the last session wouldn't have been washed out by rain. No more a few drops of rain, it's certainly become a drizzle. The umpires signalled the groundsmen to get into their job and the players start walking off. Vettori walked off the field with a sigh of relief on his face as the Indian players looked reluctantly at the sky.

15 minutes later the umpires walked on to the field, when players should not have left the field one would imagine. It was misty and overcast at that moment but it didn't rain. The umpires waited for the weather to clear, but much to the local team's happiness the rain became heavier and the umpires were forced to walk off the field again. There was a strong wind blowing across the ground, India's only hope one would say. It got heavier and heavier and the umpires were forced to call off the play. The match ended as a No result for the teams, but Indian players celebrated the 1-0 win.



New Zealand were 281 for 8 when rain stopped play. India's chances of winning the series 2-0 looked slim as James Franklin and Ross Taylor played the first session of the final day with ease. Pace bowlers Zaheer Khan and Ishant sharma bowled their heart's out, but there was no swing. Harbhajan Singh brought the first break through of the day picking Ross Taylor for 105 out bowled. It was bowled from around the wicket, Ross taylor was defeated by the drift on the full length ball which hit the middle stump to take his wicket. McCullum and Franklin continued defending the Indian bowlers as the NZ hopes of playing put til the rain intervention rised. The rain was quite evident and was forcasted for much earlier in the day.

It took 76 overs for captain MS Dhoni to hand the ball to Sachin Tendulkar who picked surprise 2 wickets just before lunch on the final day . He picked McCullum to a classical Leg spinner delivery, forcing the batsman into the bludgeoned drive which took the outside edge of the bat offering easy catch for Rahul Dravid at slip. Franklin was out LBW to a full straight delivery from Sachin. NZ left the field with 250 + for 7 at lunch. It was a 45 minuted break and the Indian players prayed and hoped the rain stayed away for that time. The rain clouds were thick and heavy as the play resumed after lunch. Harbhajan picked up Tim southee almost immediately after lunch caught behind to MS Dhoni. Daniel vettori at the other end hoping for rain and interventions. NZ batted out 5 more overs before the rain gods finally answered the NZ players wish for the rain.

Earlier in the match NZ won the toss and put India into bat on what looked like a hard and good pitch to bat on. Captain MS Dhoni joined the team after recovering from a back spasm replacing his counter part Dinesh Karthick. NZ brought back Tim Southee after his consistent performances in the domestic tournaments. Much to everyones surprise Sehwag played some defensive shots in what looked like a sensible knock from him and Gambhir. The duo put on 73 for the first wicket before Sehwag edged a good length delivery to McIntosh waiting at first slip off the bowling of Obrein. Gambhir followed soon out LBW to franklin as India were left tottering at 75 for 2. Sachin and Dravid put a good partnership, before Sachin was out caught by McCullum off the bowling of Martin.



Laxman lost his wicket playing a useless shot handing a simple catch to McIntosh at slips while Yuvraj singh continued his poor form as he lost his wicket for a score off 9 out lbw to Jesse Ryder. A lot was said and spoken about the decision and the way the umpire reacted, but neverthless replays confirmed that Yuvraj was given out lbw which was considered a valid decision. 20 runs later it was Rahul Dravid leaving India at 204/6 with NZ into the tail. Harbhajan Singh a good innings of 60 in partnership with Dhoni(52) to take India past the 275 mark. Contributions from Zaheer (33), Ishant(18), Munaf(15) took India to a respectable and match winnig total of 379.

It was early in the morning as the NZ openers walked into the middle with Zaheer with the ball in the hand and swing very much there. The Indian Pacer Zaheer Khan got his carrer's 6th five-for as the Indian seamers broke into the NZ batting dismissing the team all out for 197. Harbhajan chipped in with three wickets, but the man of the moment was Zaheer Khan. NZ avoided the follow on and India were forced to come out to bat with a lead of 182 on board and three days left to play.

India batted out the third day completely dominating the NZ bowlers who without swing looked like school boys bowling practice balls to the Indian batsman. Gambhir(167) got his second hundred of the series only this time it came at a strike rate of 65 as against 32 in his previous hundred during the second test match at napier. Rahul Dravid, laxman and Dhoni chipped in with fifties to their names as India declared the innings at 434 for 7 early in the fourth day with an overall lead of 616. A late decision as one may call it, but with two days left and the track still looking good for batting India didn't want to take chances and made sure they batted NZ completely out of the game.

A target of 617 looked a tall order for the NZ batsman and all they could do is to play out 6 sessions, just like India played out the second test match. They needed a gambhir style innings from one of their top order batsman. NZ Started off cautiously and played cautiously thro the rest of the day. NZ ended the day at 160 for 4 with a day remaining and positive chances of rain. NZ were surprisingly welcomed by bright sunshine but the chances of rain during the afternoon were quite high and so it happened. The rest is history.






India managed to put another history behind them as Dhoni and his men lifted the trophy. Dhoni has proved to be the best captain after having won both the One day and the Test series in NZ, but if you could call this luck or just plain captaincy, the Indians were treated to home like conditions on most of the pitches they played on. Dead batting tracks, with a batting order that India carries and new young bowlers on the NZ side a win was always on the cards. It was not anywhere close to what India faced 8 years back when on the same ground India lost a test match to NZ in less than 2 days when fast bowler Shane bond rattled the Indians with good swing bowling. If not for the form of Zaheer and Ishant, Indians could have received the same treatment from NZ, by giving good batting tracks NZ played the series into NZ hand's.

India will now be seen defending their world T20 title at the world championships in England starting June 5 2009. The players however will be hoping to practice hard playing the season 2 of the IPL staring April 18th in South Africa.

Like the Blog post? Subscribe to the RSS Feed by Email.
Rate this Blog? Click here!.
Kunal Janu

PS: I personally apologize to people who have been on this blog looking for reviews on the current WI-Eng encounter and the Aus-SA encounters. I have been just too busy to post anything, or even watch the match.
Read the Full Story...

India in NewZealand: 3rd Test : Team News

Faced with a must-win situation to level the series and salvage pride, New Zealand captain Daniel vettori will be hopeful of a better performance from the side after losing momentum in the middle of the second test match at Napier. For India, Dhoni has been slated to be part of the team, however this decision still hangs in balance after the team management announced that the final decision will only be taken on the first morning of the match. For New Zealand, Injured Daniel Flynn returns, Tim Southee has also been recalled.


The Conditions and the pitch will assist the faster bowlers. NZ have named additional fast bowler, Tim Southee in their 13 man squad for the third test at wellington to be played on April 3rd 2009. The 13 man squad also includes Daniel Flynn who returned to the side after sustaining a injury on the left hand during the second test. Jamie How, who played in the place of Daniel Flynn has also been named in the squad as cover player for Flynn. Addition of Southee could spell his return to the test squad having not played since the Adelaide test against Australia in December. Southee however made an appearance during the christchurch ODI where he was hit for over 100 runs in his ten overs courtesy Virender Sehwag. His return however is marked by consistent performances in the domestic tournaments. Catain Daniel Vettori will hope for a repeat performance from his batsman as they face up against what proved to be a strong batting line-up from India.

A lot will however depend on the opening batsman from both the sides. For India, Gautam Gambhir displayed a full range of defensive strokes in his innings of 137 to save the second test match. Virender Sehwag will be looking to settle down before he displayed his full range of strokes against the kiwi bowlers. For NZ, Martin Guptill and Tim McIntosh will need to build a bigger and a better partnership to give Jesse Ryder the kind of start he needs to build his innings on. Indian Bowlers on the other hand have to find a way to get Jesse Ryder out, The only way he's gotten out in the innings he's played so far is a stroke of lack of concentration, But all this came only after he'd scored big hundreds. India should also be looking to field better as they had a very bad outing on the field during the second test.

Zaheer and Ishant should be a handful given their ability to swing the ball even though most of the Kiwi batsmen have played a lot of cricket at this venue. Munaf Patel is the ideal third seamer in the Indian scheme of things.Though there was no official word on Dhoni’s fitness, the Indian captain looks set to wrest the reins after sufficient rest for his bad back, if his energetic practice sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday are any indication. It is evident that the skipper is eager to get another series win in his bulging bag.



Brendon McCullum on Conditions: “I think they (the Indians) will find it a little bit cold. If we find it cold here, no doubt they will be freezing. I am sure from their point of view they will be hoping that the wind dies down and the sun comes out but from ours, it will be great to have them on the park when the conditions are like this. I am sure we are going to find the conditions a little bit more pleasurable than they are,” he said on Wednesday.

“It’s usually a pretty good surface but depending on what the overhead conditions do over the next few days it will determine whether some moisture goes into it from those or whether it remains dry and plays as flat as it is predicted,” the 27year-old added. “We are more confident than we were after the Hamilton Test. It’s just the nature of how we competed in the last game and whilst we didn’t get the result, we should be a little bit wary about the confidence we do have,” he said.

Match telecast at 3.30 am IST on Friday.

Like the Blog post? Subscribe to the RSS Feed by Email.
Rate this Blog? Click here!.
Kunal Janu
Read the Full Story...

India in NewZealand: 3rd Test : India welcomed by cold and wet weather

Indians arrived at wellington with a indispensable lead of 1-0 and when they reached the gorund, Basin Reserve, two days before the test, there was a chill in the air and the skies overcast. The Temperature was at 10 degrees celcius and the winds blowing at around 30 kmph, 30 % of what Harbhajan bowls. The match hangs in the balance between weather and conditions more than how the teams line up. If there were tough conditions to play cricket on any where around the world, it's here at Basin reserve, Wellington, New Zealand in the month of April with the winter just strating to set in.



Having felt at home in the first 2 matches treated to Home like conditions, The Indian team will most likely find it difficult to face up with the swinging ball in the park. There is hardly any cover around the ground, the stands are grass lands with almost no height what-so-ever. A chill hangs in the air here and the Indians, so far in their comfort zone, will most likely find it difficult to negotiate the swinging ball on the park. They do not have a good record at the Basin either.

The last time they played a Test here, in 2002, the Indians were exposed, being bowled out for a mere 161 and 121 in the two innings as they lost the match by 10 wickets inside three days.

Only Rahul Dravid (76) and Sachin Tendulkar (51) could manage a half-century each in the match. However, Zaheer Khan had exploited the windy conditions very well to take a five-wicket haul. A similar show will be expected of him this time around as well. Ishant Sharma will test the NZ batsman with nippy bouncers and in swinging deliveries. That is if the weather holds good.

New Zealand have a pretty good record at this ground, having scripted massive victories — either by innings or 10 wickets. They have won three of the last five Tests played at the venue. Much is at stake as the hosts will be keen to keep their record at home against the Indians intact — India have not won a Test series in New Zealand since 1968. However, Dhoni and his men are determined to do it against the odds. It would take some application and courage though, to withstand the conditions. That the present Kiwi bowling line-up is not too penetrative and is sapped of strength having been put through the grind for 273.5 overs in Napier should work in visitors’ favor. But the Indians would do well to remember their collapse in the first innings of the second Test and not take the opposition lightly in surroundings that suit them.

The Weather looks good for the first 2 days with the Met department predicting sunny days on Thursday and Friday, weekends have been predicted cloudy. With the ground located at the base of the mountains, The chances of rain are simply unpredictable. Last time WI played NZ at this ground and most part of the match was washed out. A lot also depends on the wicket.It should offer a lot of bounce for the fast bowlers, the batsmen will be put through tough tests without doubt. But the Indians can draw confidence from the fact that five of their top six batsmen have scored at least a half-century in the Napier Test.



Like the Blog post? Subscribe to the RSS Feed by Email.
Rate this Blog? Click here!.
Kunal Janu
Read the Full Story...