Days 4&5: India Put Nose to Grindstone, Eke out Draw

When VVS Laxman stated at the end of day three that India could overcome the deficit despite the follow on, the general sarcasm was – do it and show. The modern game is such that there is no such thing as sitting on one’s laurels. While there is no denying the capability in the Indian dressing room, they showed a rare impatience on a docile pitch that made their fans doubt if they were in it for the real deal.

gambhir laxman

It is always a sign of trouble when Rahul Dravid bats for the second time in a single day. While the New Zealand batsmen made the most of the opportunity to bat first and slipped from India’s grasp after being three down to have three centurions in the line up, India threw away the opportunity to match the feats of the hosts. The result was that the hosts suddenly found a string in their step and with each Indian batsman proving to be a sloppy decision maker when it came to shot making, New Zealand were eying hopes of victory on the pitch that came nowhere near promising one.

But one innings when the Indian dressing room came undone seemed to have done the trick. The wake up call was duly noted and the key players responded and it was about time!

India, in the past, have suffered from giving in to complacency or bravado after winning the first Test and ended up allowing the host team to come back into the game and the series. Watching the Indian batsmen falter, the unpleasant familiarity had appeared to once again sink in. But the sinking ship was salvaged but it took an enormous effort.

Stand in captain Virender Sehwag fall once again to a bad shot in the follow on innings, his opening partner showed more resolve. Gambhir and Dravid built on a more determined note and while day four was a grind, it went to plan as India lost drastically fewer wickets than they had the previous day. It did not make a great spectacle for a Sunday but it did make for some gumption when precisely that was needed.

With a little more than 100 runs in deficit and an entire day to go, Gambhi’s century alone could not do the trick after the 133 partnership between Gambhir and Sehwag was broken. Dravid though had done his bit once more, scoring sixty-two to go with his first innings’ score of eighty-three. Aiding him overnight was Sachin Tendulkar sitting mighty on a half century and looking good for more.

But India lost Sachin Tendulkar early and trouble could have delivered another signing card. But Laxman, who believed that India had the wherewithal to push this Test out of New Zealand’s reach, was thrust into making his words count for something. True to his word, Laxman stood up to the task while notching up his fourteenth Test century.

Laxman’s innings was pivotal from India reducing the deficit, but it was also relevant from the point of view that it saw much of the fifth and final day for India batting to save the Test successfully, after giving New Zealand a rather realistic hope.

With defeat out of the picture, Yuvraj Singh became the fifth Indian batsman to reach the half century mark in this innings, and the only batsman who will perhaps have rued the opportunity to not make the most of it would be the captain himself.

India pulled off a Houdini at the McLean Park in Napier in the second Test. But like the master magician, they got themselves tangled in the seemingly impossible largely due to their own doing. That is something Gary Kirsten and Mahendra Singh Dhoni will have to work seriously hard if India are to improve upon their overseas record.

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