- Scorecard: NZ vs India, 3rd Test
Harbhajan Singh showed the way with a cracking knock of 60 as the lower order rose to the occasion to give India the edge on Day 1 of the third and final Test, in Wellington, on Friday.
Sachin Tendulkar top-scored with 62, while Harbhajan and Mahendra Singh Dhoni (52) came up with timely half-centuries to help India post a healthy 375 for nine at close.
Electing to bowl first, New Zealand were made to rue their decision early on, as Virender Sehwag went after the bowling. Sehwag hit seven boundaries and a six in his 51-ball 48, adding 73 runs for the opening wicket with Gautam Gambhir.
However, New Zealand fought back with the wickets of the two openers in successive overs, Ian O'Brien having Sehwag caught behind and then James Franklin trapping Gambhir leg before wicket for 23.
Sachin Tendulkar continued his good form, scoring a brisk 62, but his dismissal saw India lose their way and slip to 204 for six.
Dhoni and Harbhajan then stitched together a 79-run partnership before useful contributions from the tailenders followed. Zaheer Khan provided the late boost courtesy of a quickfire 33, while Ishant Sharma (15 not out) and Munaf Patel (14 not out) continued the onslaught with some quick runs at the end of the day.
Morning session: (101 runs, 27 overs, 2 wickets)
Chris Martin started positively, getting Gambhir to edge the very first delivery of the innings, but it dropped just short of the third slip.
In the next over, the left-hander flicked Tim Southee through the midwicket region for a boundary as the Kiwi pacer drifted on to his pads.
Sehwag did not take much time to get going; he started off with a smashing boundary off a wide delivery from Southee, the thick edge flying over the slips for a boundary. Two deliveries later, he smashed another wide delivery over the point region, this time from the middle of the bat, for a six as India raced to 20 after four overs.
The right-hander seemed keen to make up for his disappointment in the last Test after getting out to rash shots. He scored his second boundary in the next over, guiding Martin through the vacant third-man region.
With a few boundaries under his belt, it seemed Sehwag's confidence was back when he thumped Southee for two more boundaries over the cover region in the sixth over.
He seemed to relish facing Southee, who resorted to bowling wide outside the off-stump, and sent another boundary through the covers.
India raced to 50 in the 10th over, Sehwag contributing 32 from 31 deliveries, inclusive of five boundaries and a six through the off-side. At the other end, Gambhir looked solid as ever with 16 from 28 deliveries, with just one boundary.
Sehwag then helped himself to another easy boundary through the covers when he creamed a wide delivery from Martin to move to 37.
Gambhir also did not want to be left far behind; he clipped Southee through midwicket for a boundary as the bowler kept drifting on the left-hander's pads.
Southee was a big disappointment as he went for 40 in six overs in his first spell. Clearly the Kiwis' move to replace Jeetan Patel backfired on a pitch that looked another dream batting wicket.
The first hour clearly belonged to the visitors as they put on 68 for no loss in 14 overs, with Sehwag hitting 43 at run-a-ball and Gambhir not out on a solid 23.
However, New Zealand bounced right back after the drinks break with wickets in successive overs.
Ian O'Brien finally brought some relief to the Kiwi camp when he claimed the key wicket of Sehwag. The pacer found the perfect line and length just outside off-stump, and Sehwag could only edge it to the wicketkeeper.
Sehwag fell for a quick 48, including seven boundaries and a six, off 51 deliveries. His opening partnership with Gambhir yielded 73 runs off 93 deliveries and laid a solid foundation for the Indian innings.
James Franklin then claimed a wicket in his very first over when he trapped Gambhir leg before for 23. He stunned the batsman with a sharp incoming delivery that struck Gambhir right in front of the stumps. India were reduced to 75 for two.
While the opening bowlers struggled, the next two -- O'Brien and Franklin -- brought New Zealand back into the game with a combined spell of two for six in four overs.
Tendulkar started off cautiously before unleashing a magnificent drive through the covers off Franklin for his first boundary, in the 23rd over.
Southee came in for his second spell but yet again failed to impress. He went for two more boundaries, Tendulkar flicking him twice through the fine leg region.
At the lunch break, India were 101 for two in 27 overs. Tendulkar was unbeaten on 16 from 33 deliveries, inclusive of three boundaries, while Dravid was not out on 9 from 32 deliveries, inclusive of a boundary.
Post-lunch session: (89 runs, 28 overs, 3 wickets)
India got their first boundary after lunch in the first over of the session as the Kiwi bowlers drifted on the pads and Dravid guided the ball to the fine leg boundary.
The former India captain was lucky in the next over. He was caught behind off Franklin, but to the bowler's dismay he had overstepped the mark and the delivery was promptly called a no-ball.
Tendulkar seemed in no problem whatsoever as he kept finding the boundaries regularly. He brought out his trademark uppercut in the 37th over when he guided a short delivery from Martin over the slip cordon for a boundary and followed it up with another delightful boundary through the point region to move to 49.
The master batsman's half-century came up in some style when he thumped the cover boundary yet again. It took him just 67 deliveries to reach his 53rd half-century in Tests, inclusive of nine boundaries.
The boundaries were flowing regularly after lunch, mostly off Tendulkar's bat, as the New Zealand continued to err by giving too much room on the off-side. India were a comfortable 153 for 2 in 39 overs.
If the Kiwis had heaved a huge sigh of relief at the fall of the wickets of Sehwag and Gambhir, they were now confronted with another huge task: Tendulkar in full flow and looking to dominate.
Spin was introduced in the 40th over when Vettori brought himself on after watching how Tendulkar was taking control of the proceedings. The flow of runs continued as Vettori conceded eight runs in his first over, with Dravid hitting a boundary through the off-side.
Tendulkar suffered a brief loss in concentration, or perhaps got a bit over ambitious, as he tried the uppercut twice in the 41st over by Martin, but was lucky on both occasions as the ball just missed the edge.
He, however, fell in Martin's next over when he tried another forceful drive through the off-side without any footwork and ended up edging it behind to the wicketkeeper. He was out after a cracking 62, but must be ruing throwing away a good opportunity to score another century. He hit 11 boundaries off 85 deliveries and was involved in a 90-run partnership for the third wicket with Dravid.
VVS Laxman did not survive long. He fell to another loose shot. He drove at a wide delivery from Southee only to edge it to Tim McIntosh at second slip and was dismissed for 4.
Yuvraj Singh was undone by Jesse Ryder's part-time medium pacers, trapped leg before wicket for 9. The left-hander played all over a full delivery from Ryder and was struck in front of the stumps as India slipped to 182 for five.
Interestingly, television commentators were busy debating whether umpire Daryl Harper had ruled Yuvraj out leg before wicket or caught at gully, as the Australian umpire waited for the fielder to complete the catch before giving him out.
Three quick wickets in the space of nine overs for the addition of just 17 runs saw India slipping to 182 for five in the 52nd over. They now looked in real danger of messing up the opportunity of batting first on a good batting track.
Dhoni tried another reckless shot when he walked down the track and tried to work Southee on the leg side, but got an edge which flew between the slips off the last before tea.
At the other end, Dravid was holding fort on 31 from 108 deliveries, inclusive of three boundaries, as India put up 190 for 5 in 55 overs at the tea break.
The session belonged to New Zealand, as they staged a strong comeback after Tendulkar's wicket. The Indian batsmen have themselves to blame as they gave their wickets away playing some careless shots.
Post-tea session: (185 runs, 35 overs, 4 wickets)
India lost the key wicket of Dravid soon after the lunch break when he hit a short delivery from Martin straight to Franklin at square leg. It was once again the case of an Indian batsman throwing his wicket away rather than the Kiwi bowlers bagging it.
Dravid mistimed his pull shot and the ball went straight to square leg. He was dismissed for 35 off 114 deliveries, leaving India reeling at 204 for six.
The scenario was similar to that of the first innings of the second Test, where the Indian batsmen threw their wickets away and only a determined and disciplined effort in the second essay saw them save the match.
Dhoni was left with the task of now shepherding the lower order and taking India to at least a fighting total, somewhere in excess of 300.
Harbhajan lived a charmed life, as most of his runs at the start of his innings came off edges. He got a reprieve on 14 when Martin Guptill failed to hold on to a difficult chance in the gully region. But once he found his footing, he launched two delightful boundaries -- the first one was a pull shot through midwicket while the second was a crisp straight drive.
While Dhoni was content playing according to the merits of the ball, Harbhajan played in his own unique style in a bid to take on the bowlers. Quite a number of times, much to Vettori's frustration, Harbhajan got the edges or the leading edges but every time it fell to safety.
Dhoni batted with great patience before he broke the shackles with a straight boundary and six off successive deliveries off Vettori in the 74th over. He brought up his half-century with a streaky boundary through the vacant area between slip and gully off Southee. It took him 86 deliveries to reach the landmark and included five boundaries and a six.
However, he fell soon, caught at the fine leg boundary attempting an ambitious hook shot off Southee when the situation demanded otherwise. Dhoni became Southee's second victim of the innings after a valuable knock of 52. His dismissal reduced India to 283 for seven in 77 overs.
But Harbhajan seemed unfazed by all of it as he slog swept Vettori twice in the next over through midwicket for successive boundaries. The very next delivery he smashed the Kiwi captain through long-on for a huge six, which also brought up his half-century, off 58 deliveries.
Harbhajan's cameo came to an abrupt end when he chipped Martin straight to Vettori at mid-off. He scored a priceless 60, hitting seven boundaries and a six in his 78-ball knock, and rescued India after the middle order collapse.
Zaheer suddenly changed gears and took on Southee with a couple of boundaries in the 84th over. He followed it up with four successive boundaries off O'Brien but fell caught behind to the last delivery of the over.
Zaheer was surprised by a sharp bouncer from O'Brien which he could only glove behind to wicketkeeper Brendon McCullum. The fast bowler contributed a useful 33 -- hitting six boundaries from 23 deliveries -- that gave a late boost to the Indian total.
Ishant also made merry as he threw his bat at anything wide and full and runs came rather freely much to New Zealand's frustration. Munaf Patel scored more runs off the edge than off the middle of his bat as New Zealand's ploy of bowling full backfired.
At stumps, India were a healthy 375 for nine in 90 overs, for a run-rate of more than four runs per over. Ishant was not out on 15 (21 balls, 2 x 4), while Munaf was unbeaten on 14 (11 balls, 3 x 4) as the two batsmen put on 28 runs for the last wicket.
The new ball had worked well for India as they amassed 73 runs in 10 overs despite losing only two wickets in the process. After being reduced to 283 for seven at one stage, it seemed India would crumble around the 300-run mark, but the lower order counter-attacked in fine style and even 400 looks possible now.
The final session saw India turn it on as they hammered 185 runs in 35 overs, losing four wickets.
But, still, India would be disappointed that none of their batsmen failed to carry on despite getting good starts and their best partnership was 90 for the third wicket between Tendulkar and Dravid.
Martin was New Zealand's best bowler, taking three for 95 in 24 overs, but even he failed to contain the scoring rate.
Southee (2 for 94) and O'Brien (2 for 88) also chipped in with key wickets but were left stunned by India's late charge.
