Nagpur, Nov. 23: In his only innings of this match, Rahul Dravid was at the crease for 573 minutes. New Zealand in both innings together held on for 538 minutes. The essential ingredient of duration cricket is playing time and the collective failure from the visitors handed out India an emphatic innings and 198-run win on the fourth day of the deciding Test here on Tuesday.
Poor umpiring marked the first passage of play but that should take nothing away from India as both teams were to suffer from odd decisions. All the gumption that marked the first two Tests looked like memories from a distant past as New Zealand batsmen capitulated against an attack that was steady at best.
Adrift by 349 runs at the start of the day and six long sessions staring at them, there was going to be only one winner but to fold 29 minutes after lunch showed Kiwi character in poor light.
India managed three scalps within the first hour. With the visitors reduced to 62/4, the foundation for an early finish was laid. Brendon McCullum on whom a lot depended was the first to go when he played back instead of stretching forward. The hardness of the semi-new ball helped it skid and trap the batsman. It was justice for Pragyan Ojha who was within his rights to believe he had the batsman the previous evening.
Martin Guptill was unlucky to be adjudged lbw, the ball had pitched outside the leg stump. Ross Taylor saw both ends of the coin in a short span. After surviving a confident appeal against Ojha, he was given out caught at short leg off Harbhajan Singh when the ball had gone clearly off the pad.
There was one minor contest amidst the Indian domination. S. Sreesanth was involved in a verbal skirmish with Taylor that inspired the batsmen to play a pick-up flick on the rise and follow it with a controlled square cut.
M.S. Dhoni spreading the field for Taylor was a ploy to encourage the nip and tuck. The strategy helped taking the batsman out of his comfort zone. Gareth Hopkins hung in without confidence and was soon on his way back when Gautam Gambhir held a fine reflex catch at short leg. Hit on the knee earlier, the opener had to leave the field briefly.
Ojha’s first spell read 10-0-43-2 and Harbhajan added two more wickets as the spinners well and truly dominated proceedings. Newcomer Kane Williamson was beaten and bowled when he got inside the line to Ishant Sharma. The ball keeping low did not help the batsmen either.
With lunch approaching, it was a question of when the innings would terminate. The last recognised pair of Jesse Ryder and Daniel Vettori showed no inclination of grinding it out.
Scoreboard
Mew Zealand 1st innings 193
India 1st innings 566/8 decl.
New Zealand 2nd innings (overnight 24/1)
McIntosh lbw b Harbhajan 8, McCullum lbw b Ojha 25, Hopkins c Gambhir b Harbhajan 8, Guptill lbw b Ojha 0, Taylor c sub (Pujara) b Harbhajan 29, Ryder c Ishant b Raina 22, Williamson b Ishant 8, Vettori lbw b Raina 13, Southee b Ishant 31, McKay not out 20, Martin b Ishant 0
Total (in 51.2 overs) 175
Extras: (b10, lb1) 11
FoW: 1-18, 2-38, 3-38, 4-62, 5-93, 6-110, 7-123, 8-124, 9-175, 10-175.
Bowling: Sreesanth 7-3-25-0, Ishant 6.2-2-15-3, Ojha 17-2-67-2, Harbhajan 19-4-56-3, Raina 2-1-1-2.