In 1968, Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi's men triumphed by eight wickets in Wellington to take a 2-1 lead. A win in the next Test sealed what is still India's only Test series win in New Zealand. On Friday, MS Dhoni (or perhaps Virender Sehwag) will lead his charges at the Basin Reserve in pursuit of a victory that would end a 41-year drought in New Zealand. The Indians had an opportunity to close out the series in Napier but instead they had to produce a tremendous batting performance spanning more than two days to save their 1-0 lead.
New Zealand bounced back admirably from a thrashing in the first Test to stretch India at McLean Park. They dominated the first three days: the batsmen answered Daniel Vettori's request to bat 120 overs by scoring 619 in 154.4 before the bowlers secured a 314-run lead. After enforcing the follow-on on the third evening, they were thwarted by India's batsmen who were determined not to repeat their first-innings mistakes on the most placid of pitches. It was hard to say who held the upper hand at the end of the Test. Had it been a boxing match, like Iain O'Brien said, New Zealand would have won on points, but the fact was that they could only take 14 Indian wickets despite one of their best efforts.
India, on the other hand, will take confidence from their series-saving effort in Napier. They cannot lose the series and they will be hoping their chances of victory are boosted by the return of Dhoni, who missed the second Test because of back spasms and is not a certainty for the third. Without Dhoni, India lacked their edge in the field and his replacement Virender Sehwag appeared bereft of ideas and inspiration when Ross Taylor, Jesse Ryder and Brendon McCullum were plundering runs. Dinesh Karthik was also an inadequate replacement both behind the stumps and with the bat.
New Zealand bounced back admirably from a thrashing in the first Test to stretch India at McLean Park. They dominated the first three days: the batsmen answered Daniel Vettori's request to bat 120 overs by scoring 619 in 154.4 before the bowlers secured a 314-run lead. After enforcing the follow-on on the third evening, they were thwarted by India's batsmen who were determined not to repeat their first-innings mistakes on the most placid of pitches. It was hard to say who held the upper hand at the end of the Test. Had it been a boxing match, like Iain O'Brien said, New Zealand would have won on points, but the fact was that they could only take 14 Indian wickets despite one of their best efforts.
India, on the other hand, will take confidence from their series-saving effort in Napier. They cannot lose the series and they will be hoping their chances of victory are boosted by the return of Dhoni, who missed the second Test because of back spasms and is not a certainty for the third. Without Dhoni, India lacked their edge in the field and his replacement Virender Sehwag appeared bereft of ideas and inspiration when Ross Taylor, Jesse Ryder and Brendon McCullum were plundering runs. Dinesh Karthik was also an inadequate replacement both behind the stumps and with the bat.
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