India win series with huge innings victory
With a big lead in the bag, and the pitch offering turn and bounce, the Indian bowlers were all over the New Zealand batsmen
With a big lead in the bag, and the pitch offering turn and bounce, the Indian bowlers were all over the New Zealand batsmen
Vettori and the rest of the New Zealand team come out of the dressing-room and shake hands with the Indians as they troop off the ground. It was probably too much to expect New Zealand to have wrenched a draw in this game after being dominated in the first three days, but you'd have expected them to at least take the match till late into the fourth day.
Almost everything has gone right for India in this game, perhaps some runs from Raina would have made it perfect. Two men who weren't in their best form, Gambhir and Dhoni, spent time in the middle, Ishant Sharma and Sreesanth seemed to be in rhythm, and the spinners did their job as well in Nagpur. The win means India take the series 1-0, and they are now haven't lost a series since the Mendis inspired Sri Lanka to victory in mid-2008.
It's not all doom-and-gloom for New Zealand, who were widely expected to be thumped 3-0 when they came into the series. The emergence of Kane Williamson is a huge bonus, as is the return of Jesse Ryder who has been out of Tests for a long time ahead of this series. Brendon McCullum's audition as a Test opener was also a success.Question marks will remain over Gareth Hopkins, though, and opinion will be divided on whether Tim McIntosh is a long-term opening prospect.
Rajesh: "Martin's first duck against India. This is his second highest series average ever!!"
Nithin: "NZ fantastic fight in first two test math came with disastrous end in third . This test series is a wake up call for Indian team for most awaited SA series . We cannot take any team for granted .Well played NZ . Indians are still NO 1, but lot of lessons taught for Number one side by underdogs NZ . Hats of NZ for their sportsman spirit . Good luck for one day series ."
Post-match presentation:
Rahul Dravid is the Man of the Match: "It was a good series, had to work hard for runs. To get the sort of result we did today was sweet. The bowlers set up the match for us. I think it was the best wicket we got in the series, there was bounce when the ball was new, and turn later as we saw today."
Harbhajan Singh is the Man of the Series: "It's been a satisfying series with the bat, but could have got more wickets. I'm very happy we won the series. This is what is called an Indian, there is something in it for the bowlers on the fourth and fifth day, and batsman can score is they play well. I think I bowled well, would have been happy with 15-16 wickets in the series, Ojha bowled well, Raina chipped in with wickets. South Africa is going to be very challenging, we have to play much better than we did in this series to win, if we play to our potential and our capabilities, we can definitely win in South Africa."
Daniel Vettori: "It was a really good challenge, this is the sort of wicket you expect to play on at least once in India, it was a first for some of us, and hopefully we can do better the next time it happens. We're more comfortable as a one-day unit, though we were beaten in our previous series."
MS Dhoni: "I think the way the fast bowlers bowled on the first day was remarkable, there wasn't much in the wicket for them then but they still got the wickets, and they were backed up by the spinners. Plenty of positives, the way Rahul is playing, Sehwag's form, the bowlers have shown they can take wickets even on flat tracks, one area of improvement is the fielding, we need to increase our intensity in the field."
Dhoni collects the trophy, and the Indian squad pose for photos with it.
That's all we have for now. There are two other Tests in progress right now, Pakistan have just averted the follow-on in Abu Dhabi, and Sri Lanka are 27 for 1 against West Indies in Colombo.
Thanks for all the mails during the Test, this is Siddarth Ravindran signing out.
CS Martin b Sharma 0 (2m 1b 0x4 0x6) SR: 0.00
Can Martin last the over? Five balls to go.
TG Southee b Sharma 31 (46m 25b 0x4 3x6) SR: 124.00
Ishant is back
Harbhajan round the wicket now
India suffered a bloody nose in the first Test but the return to form of some of their key players, and a series win, augur well for the South Africa tour
This will count as another series defeat after the Bangladesh debacle, but New Zealand defied expectations and were worthy opponents
MS Dhoni believes that the wealth of experience within a settled squad could be pivotal as India now look ahead to South Africa
New Zealand's poor batting display on the first day of the third and deciding Test cost them the match, according to Daniel Vettori
Plays of the Day from the fourth day of the third Test between India and New Zealand in Nagpur