Kiwis win final ODI by 6 wickets

A defeat by six wickets in the final match of the seven-match series saw the Indian team return with their reputation dented badly. The 'flat-track bully' tag will haunt the Indians as they board the flight back home. The seamer-friendly tracks of New Zealand exposed vital cracks in the Indian batting.    

New Zealand coach Denis Aberhart has struck slip catching off the team's practice sessions. With the Indian batsmen having given sufficient slip catches on this tour to the Kiwi fielders -- skipper Stephen Fleming leads the pack with nine catches -- the coach might want to allot more time to some innovative rugby style fielding drills.

Doug Strachan, the head groundsman at Westpac Trust stadium said, "If the Indians want practice for South Africa, they'll get it tomorrow. They'll get pace, they'll get bounce. I'm not going to be happy unless I see 500 runs in the day, and I'm expecting 550. It's that good a track."

Six Indian wickets down before crossing the 50-run mark, and the goodness of the track was in full bloom.

Well, what can one say? It has been that kind of a tour where the bowlers have thrived and the ineptitude of the Indian batsmen badly exposed.

Skipper Sourav Ganguly lost the toss and was asked to take first strike on a wicket with an average first innings score of 229. Daryl Tuffey tucked Virender Sehwag up while Ganguly took his own time to get the measure of the wicket. The sedate start unsettled Sehwag, who only managed an edge to the keeper while trying to smash the ball through the covers.

Sachin Tendulkar walked out at number three hoping to get a decent outing before embarking on his fourth World Cup campaign. Six balls later, Tuffey drew him forward and induced an edge with an outswinger that flew to Fleming at first slip. Two runs from three innings is not the manner in which Tendulkar might have wished to finish the ODI series.

Since the final of the NatWest Trophy in England, Tendulkar's highest score

has been 16 in eight innings. His last string of low scores was against New Zealand in India in 1999, when he scored 1, 2 and 0. On the Australian tour his dismal form in the one-dayers continued. He ran scores of 13, 12 and 1 against Australia and Pakistan.

Before India could recover from Tendulkar's loss, Fleming snapped up Dinesh

Mongia, who replaced Sanjay Bangar, in the slips, giving Tuffey an opportunity for a hat-trick.

Dravid was rapped on the pads but survived the hat-trick ball. The skipper and his deputy set about restoring some sanity to the proceedings, running some quick singles and eschewing the swishes outside off.

Mills had Dravid with a delivery that kicked after pitching and flew to second slip. Four balls later Ganguly dragged the ball onto his stumps to give Andre Adams the first of his four wickets.

Inside 15 overs, India had yet again lost its middle order without even crossing the 50-run mark.

Tuffey, who tormented the Indians all through the series, bowled a spotless first spell of six overs for 12 runs and two wickets. There was no room for the drive -- through covers or past square; just the good length balls with exaggerated bounce. Though slower than Bond, he was more adept at his art.

Fortune has deserted Kaif just as his technique. A duck in his last outing of the tour saw him end the series at an average of 7.85 -- a far cry from the dream run in England and Colombo. Suddenly India's finest finisher is finding trouble getting started.

Yuvraj Singh and Anil Kumble found themselves at the crease with the score reading 44 for 6 and more than 30 overs to play. With a fair mix of courage and skill the pair settled in and began scoring with ease.

Kumble drove through the covers and then past the square fielder to match Yuvraj's stroke-play on either side of the wicket. Though Sehwag has outshone all the batsmen in this series with two hundreds, Yuvraj has imprinted his own footsteps in this series. Batting with composure and flair, he held the middle-order together. Barring Sehwag, at number one, Yuvraj, at five, is the only other position that is settled in this line-up that is studded with talent and inconsistency in equal measure.

One short of the fifty-run partnership, Yuvraj drove seamer Scott Styris uppishly to offer a simple catch to Lou Vincent at mid-off. His 33 was invaluable in context of the game. At 44 for 6, India were in danger of being bowled out inside 100 runs before he stemmed the rot.

Javagal Srinath and Kumble saw India cross the hundred-run mark before Adams came back to wipe off the tail as the innings folded for 122.

Here's a quick stat: Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Dinesh Mongia and Mohammad Kaif together totalled as much as Zaheer Khan's individual score of 5.

Fleming defended his approach and the manner in which he utilized Chris Harris in the last two games. "Contrary to results we've answered some pretty good questions and I stress no player has been hung out to dry. We've looked at areas of strength and put them in the bank," Fleming said. 

Srinath, three short of the 300-wicket milestone, in one-dayers almost had Fleming, shouldering arms, trapped in front off the first ball of the innings. Only umpire Daryl Harper disagreed.

Matthew Sinclair failed to navigate Srinath's curling inswinger and was bowled. Brendon McCullum, promoted up the order to get some quick runs, cover drove Srinath to get off the mark.

But Zaheer Khan struck from the other end, trapping him in front, as the fragile Kiwi batting line-up was tested yet again.

Srinath accomplished his second dismissal -- that of Chris Cairns -- with the delivery that cut back in and dislodged the bails.

Bishen Singh Bedi statement that Srinath's inclusion in the World Cup squad has set the team back by four years couldn't have been more accurate. Without Srinath leading the bowling attack the team would have been set back by 10 years. To debate Anil Kumble's inclusion is understandable but to question Srinath's inclusion in the team is like disputing the use of the abdomen guard.

Srinath dropped a simple catch off his own bowling. What would have been his 300th one-day wicket, went down as a chance.

At 32-3, the match seemed headed for another close finish. Fleming reached his half-century and Scott Styris batted calmly to get the Kiwis through to the victory target.

Despite Srinath and Zaheer bowling a tight line, Fleming and Styris made batting look so easy on a track that the Indians reckoned was unplayable. Application was the difference in the batting approach of the two sides. The Indians had packed their bags too early instead of bowing off with a fight.

Fleming remained unbeaten on 60 -- an innings that will help him immensely after the intense criticism he faces at home for opening the innings. Today's knock settled the issue, though only until the World Cup.

India was beaten 2-5 in the series and suffered a badly dented reputation as a world beater.