Oram stars in New Zealand win

At the post-match press conference, skipper Sourav Ganguly said that the Eden Park wicket was unfit for international cricket. After what the Indian team scored today, the same could be said for some of its batsmen.

India lost the game by three wickets, leaving a lot of questions unanswered. Javagal Srinath, who recently retired from Test cricket, came up with a brilliant show today, taking 4-23. He was by far the best bowler on show.

India seem to have made a habit of surprising with their team compositions, and today was no different. In the absence of Sachin Tendulkar and Sanjay Bangar, who were injured, Shiv Sundar Das opening the innings for his team.

If the move was an effort by the team management to mock the selectors for not including Das in the list of probables, it was futile. He could not have been inducted even if he made a hundred today. That he got out for a sketchy 30 is different.

It would have made more sense to include fast bowler Rakesh Patel -- who is in the probables list -- and Ajit Agarkar as the all-rounder at number seven.

Another option would have been to include Parthiv Patel as the wicket-keeper and probably ask him to open the innings. If the team management thought that he was equipped to open in Tests [he opened in the second innings of the second Test], the one-dayers should be a cakewalk.

With the selectors most likely to include an extra wicket-keeper besides first choice Rahul Dravid, it makes sense to give Patel a few games before the World Cup.

With an orgy of runs on the flat tracks back home in the one-day series against the West Indies, the Indian batsmen valued the importance of runs on the seaming tracks of New Zealand.

"The one-day pitches will suit the batsmen more," Indian coach John Wright said before the start of the series. "I hope our batsmen can go out and show the cricket people of New Zealand how they have become one of the most feared line-ups in world cricket."

Losing six wickets in eight overs with the addition of only 13 runs, the Indian batsmen failed to show a glint of their batting prowess.

Playing the first game without the services of Tendulkar, Bangar and off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, skipper Sourav Ganguly further aggravated his team's chances by losing the toss to Stephen Fleming.

Batting first on the pitch dropped in about a month ago with a hint of foliage, the Indian opening worries continued as Virender Sehwag's bad run seeped through to the shorter version of the game.

Shane Bond bowling with raw pace -- not worrying about the no balls and wides -- got through the defences of Sehwag, for his third duck of the year, with an inswinging yorker.

Bond also bowled Das off a no ball in the fourth over of the innings. VVS Laxman and Das struggled to get the ball off the square, as runs came at a premium. Such was the hold of the Kiwi speedsters that the first boundary came only in the 9th over -- a flowing drive through extra cover from Laxman, who was later dismissed hooking Tuffey in the deep.

After 10 overs, the Indian batsmen having played 50 dot balls, were 33-2 -- a huge crime in the shorter version of the game where the single assumes enormous importance. At the end of 15 overs, India had played 70 dot balls and 15 singles – completely in contrast to the team strategy of taking singles when the bog shots don't connect.

Das played some fine shots, including a six off Tuffey over the square-leg fence, before he was snapped up in the slips slashing at seamer Kyle Mills for 30, which was to be the top-score of the Indian innings (63-3).

Ganguly inner-edged Oram onto his stumps, ironically after changing his bat, in the same over Yuvraj Singh departed courtesy another slip catch.

Mohammad Kaif edged Oram to first slip, as Fleming's attacking field setting –two slips and two gullies – seemed precise and part of a well-executed design. Oram picked another wicket in the same over, trapping Kumble in front to have the Indian reeling at 74-7 with another 30 overs yet to be bowled in the Indian innings.

After the fall of the eight wicket (Javagal Srinath), Rahul Dravid and Zaheer Khan pulled a mini-reprisal in the innings that helped India cross the 100-run mark.

Jacob Oram picked up his first five-wicket haul in one-dayers catching the Indian batsmen unaware with the seaming ball. Skipper Fleming had pointed out that his bowlers had exploited the Indian batsmen's tendency to play too many shots in the Tests. The one-dayer seemed no different, as the Indian batsmen could not negotiate the seam or their attacking instinct.

Left-arm spinner Daniel Vettori, who didn't bowl a single ball during the two-Test series against India finally got a bowl and struck in his first over trapping Zaheer in front much to the jubilation of his skipper.

Timing his jump to perfection, Vettori ended the Indian innings taking a brilliant catch at mid-on off Tuffey.

India were packed off for 108 - their lowest ever against New Zealand - inside 32 overs. New Zealand in reply were 29-1 at lunch in the opening day-night encounter of the seven-match series at Eden Park.

Having snapped up dangerman Nathan Astle for a blob before the lunch break, the Indian seamers had threatened to make a match it if they picked early wickets.

Skipper Fleming and Matthew Sinclair were coasting towards the paltry Indian total when Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra burst through the fragile Kiwi middle-order.

In the first over after lunch, Fleming was rapped on the pads by a Nehra delivery that cut back after pitching on off-stump. In the very next over Zaheer had Sinclair driving to Ganguly who took a sharp catch at point. Two wickets in two overs and India was right back on the verge of an unbelievable chance to defend a total of 108.

Craig McMillan and Lou Vincent decided to swing the bat around for some quick runs to release the pressure valve. After a couple of boundaries Javagal Srinath -- hitting the right length regularly – struck twice in the same over to swing the match India's way.

McMillan swished at one from Srinath without moving his feet and was caught at the wicket. Keeper Brendan McCullum who replaced Chris Nevin for the one-day series pulled Srinath to the fine leg fence as soon as he walked but was beaten by Srinath's unrelenting length that took the edge yet again to the keeper.

52-5 after 18 overs and the joy of a superb field day changed to fear in the New Zealand dressing room. Their fragile middle-order was exposed yet again.

Srinath who bowled 90 per cent of his deliveries on the good length spot kept the ball coming in to the right-handers at speeds touching 130 kph.

Left-arm seamer Ashish Nehra struck in the very next over trapping Vincent in front with one that pitched on leg and struck the right-hander bang in front of the off-stump.

The job had been done by the Indian seamers and now it was a matter of crossing the t's and dotting the ‘i's. With Jacob Oram and Kylie Mills at the crease, all skipper Ganguly had to do was take the gamble and bowl all his three pace bowlers out to wrap up the game.

Instead Ganguly decided to bowl one seamer with Anil Kumble – who did not bowl badly but never threatened to take a wicket. In low scoring games the economy rate or the number of maidens bowled don't matter much.

It would have made more sense for Ganguly to have brought himself on with another of the seam bowlers to exploit the juice in the wicket. After Srinath bowled eight of his quote of ten overs, Srinath took him off and brought him back after seven overs.

In those seven overs bowled by Anil Kumble and Zaheer Khan – who was the least impressive of the three seam bowlers today – Mills and Oram stitched a 34-run partnership that dented India's hopes of a fairytale comeback into the match.

Srinath was brought back into the attack with the Kiwis requiring a further 23 runs to win and the Mills-Oram partnership scaling threatening proportions.

Off the fourth ball of his ninth over, Srinath surprised Mills with the extra bounce. The ball took his gloves and flew to the keeper with New Zealand precariously placed at 7-86.

Daniel Vettori joined Oram in the middle and the two negotiated Srinath's final over without losing their wickets as the Kiwis had taken the lead.

The most shocking aspect of Ganguly's captaincy was that he did not bowl Zaheer and Srinath in tandem towards the end. Zaheer actually got to bowl only nine overs with Ganguly deciding to chance his arm towards the end of the innings.

Jacob Oram who top-scored with 29 runs and picked up his maiden five-wicket haul finished the match with a flowing cover drive to clinch the match for New Zealand.

In the final analysis of the game, Srinath's return to the side has done the team a fat lot of good.

He set the match up for India with his three spells; his five overs in the first spell cost 14 runs and a wicket, the second of 3 overs cost four runs and the two wickets and the final spell of 2 overs went for five runs and a wicket. 51 of his deliveries were not scored off while Nehra had 49 dot balls off his ten overs.

India's inability to get the final three Kiwi wickets proved to be the turning point of the match after the Indians at one stage had them at 52-6.

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