Rain forces draw but India take series
The Wellington weather and a Ross Taylor century defied India as the third Test ended in a draw with New Zealand eight wickets down
The Bulletin by Dileep Premachandran
07-Apr-2009
India 379 (Tendulkar 62, Harbhajan 60, Dhoni 52, Martin 4-98) and 434 for 7 dec (Gambhir 167, Laxman 61, Dravid 60, Dhoni 56*) drew with New Zealand 197 (Zaheer 5-65) and 281 for 8 (Taylor 107, Harbhajan 4-59)
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
The Wellington weather and a Ross Taylor century defied India as
the third Test ended in a draw with New Zealand eight wickets down. Zaheer
Khan had bowled just one delivery with the second new ball when the rain
forced the players off the field 20 minutes after lunch, and they wouldn't
return. India were left to reflect on three dropped catches, while New
Zealand might have argued that they were due a bit of luck after two
decisions went against them. The draw might have been an unsatisfactory
result, but it still sealed a first Indian series win in New Zealand in 41
years.
They could have won it even before the heavens opened though. Tim Southee
was given out caught behind off Harbhajan Singh, though the noise that got
all the close-in fielders excited was actually bat hitting pad. Moments
later, it was New Zealand that were the beneficiaries of umpiring
largesse. Harbhajan turned one sharply and Daniel Vettori was palpably
plumb, but Simon Taufel thought otherwise.
When Ishant Sharma then grassed a simple chance at square leg after Iain
O'Brien had slogged Tendulkar, the Indians might have known it wasn't to
be their day. Soon after, Zaheer came on and so did the rain. And that was
that.
The story of the morning had been Sachin Tendulkar. It had taken MS Dhoni
76 overs to give the ball to him, but two wickets shortly before lunch in
an extended morning session put the smiles back on Indian faces after a
142-run partnership between Taylor and James Franklin had kept them at
bay. New Zealand were also left to ponder a poor decision against Brendon
McCullum as their struggle for survival was compromised in a crazy passage
of play just before the interval.
Zaheer had an early shout for leg-before against Franklin turned down, but
the theme of the first hour was stout resistance. Taylor continued to
feast on short and wide offerings from Ishant, and the Indian mood
didn't improve when Gautam Gambhir failed to hold on to a chance at short
leg after Franklin had popped one up off bad and pad. New Zealand added 38
before the drinks break, and soon after an airy flick down to fine leg off
Harbhajan got Taylor to his century from just 158 balls.
Tendulkar was introduced soon after, but the frustration continued as
Franklin edged one past slip for four. And it was left to the frontline
spinner to strike, though relying on drift rather than turn to get the job
done. Taylor's attempt to push the ball away was stymied by the movement
through the air and Harbhajan's celebrations were certainly not muted as
he yorked the key obstacle in India's path.
Soon after, Munaf Patel put down McCullum at mid-off off Tendulkar, but
the second chance didn't go a long way. A ripping leg break spun past the
bat and through to slip via Dhoni's gloves, but the impact of bat on the
ground fooled the umpire into upholding India's appeal. And if that was a
serious blow to New Zealand's hopes, worse was to follow, as Franklin who
had eased his way to 49 was trapped in front by another delivery that
turned sharply into him. As at Adelaide five years earlier, Tendulkar had compensated for an average performance with the bat by turning into the
man with the golden arm. But even he could do nothing about the weather.
Dileep Premachandran is an associate editor at Cricinfo