India, ranked No 1 in Tests, faced a tough battle from New Zealand ranked way below at eighth as the first two Tests ended in high scoring draws on flat pitches.

India's frustration finally ended in Nagpur with the bowlers showing the way and the batsmen firing in unison to register their third biggest victory, in terms of innings margin, in Tests.

There were quite a few star performers for India, who came to the fore at different points in the series.

Harbhajan Singh had a memorable series, one where his batting outdid his bowling. He scored two centuries in the first two Tests and claimed 10 wickets to be named the man of the series.

There were other notable performers like Rahul Dravid, who hit 191 in the final Test, Virender Sehwag, who top scored in the series with 398 runs among others.

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The planet's most exciting batsman paved the way for India's big total in the third Test with his blazing 74 and his 113-run opening partnership with Gautam Gambhir.

Sehwag's only weakness was against Daniel Vettori, who claimed his wicket four times in the series, while he was run out once.

He was close to being dropped for the Hyderabad Test, but the team management showed faith and he repaid that trust with two good knocks.

The left-hander ended the series on a high, hitting two half-centuries at Nagpur.

Gambhir is the skipper for two one-dayers against the Kiwis. It will be a good opportunity for the Delhi dasher to demonstrate his leadership skills and reaffirm why he will be an important member of India's World Cup campaign in February.

He started the series with a pain-staking century (104) in the drawn Test at Ahmedabad before scoring a marathon 191 in the third Test to play a key role in India's victory.

Dravid was dismissed caught behind chasing wide deliveries in the previous series against Australia, but he seemed to have got his technique right in the New Zealand series.

His return to form must offer relief to the selectors ahead of next month's all-important tour to South Africa. Could that series be Dravid's swan song?

Tendulkar made a patient 61 from 129 balls in the Nagpur Test to register his only half century in the series which were played mostly on good batting wickets.

Overall, Sachin enjoyed a remarkable run with the bat in 2010, scoring 1,396 runs in 12 Tests.

His patient 91 in the second innings of the first Test and his 163-run partnership for the seventh wicket with Harbhajan Singh (115) saved India from losing that game.

The stylish right-hander made another half-century (74) in the second Test.

He looked completely out of place in this Indian team, scoring just 26 runs in four innings in a series dominated by batsmen.

The only saving grace was his contribution with the ball -- he took five wickets (his bowling average is better than his batting average) -- and his superb fielding.

His often defensive captaincy came for criticism, his batting never took off till Nagpur, and his performance behind the stumps was sloppy (the skipper seemed to be in physical distress and his decision to skip the one-day series against the Kiwis is a wise one).

Dhoni appeared bereft of ideas as his No 1 team was often outplayed in the first two Tests by the Kiwis, led wisely by their thinking captain Dan Vettori.

Kiwi bowlers found it impossible to get Harbhajan Singh's wicket cheaply as he scored 315 runs at an astonishing average of 105.

But as he admitted after the series, he could have done with more wickets.

Harbhajan struggled to come to terms with the conditions and mostly played second fiddle to left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha.

The off-spinner took 10 wickets, and only got his bowling groove back somewhat when he took three wickets in the second innings of the Nagpur Test.

With Harbhajan not at his best, Ojha ensured regular breakthroughs and made life difficult for the Kiwis.

The left-arm spinner was India's most successful bowler with a haul of 12 wickets as he took wickets in every innings that he bowled.

Ojha opened the floodgates on the final day of the Nagpur Test with Brendon McCullum and Martin Guptill's wickets that helped India seal a huge win.

At Hyderabad and Nagpur, Sreesanth was quite lethal with the new ball and achieved important breakthroughs for a series tally of eight wickets.

Despite bowling on flat wickets, Zaheer gave it his all, troubling batsmen, both with the old and new ball, to claim seven wickets in the first two Tests.

An injury unfortunately ruled him out of the series decider.

Given a chance because of Zaheer's absence, Ishant produced a magnificent performance.

He troubled the Kiwi batsmen with his pace and sharp movement and claimed wickets at regular intervals.

The lanky pacer claimed four wickets to bowl out the Kiwis cheaply for 193 in the first innings that ultimately proved to be the winning difference.

His performance will be a big morale booster for India's South African tour.

Series: 7 wickets. Average: 8.28.