Indian opener Gautam Gambhir. He'll need a few more drinks after 643 minutes at the crease. More photos here
Given that New Zealand dominated vast stretches of the drawn Second Test in Napier, it's quite ironic that India may have derived more benefits from the match the hosts.
After the Indians had fallen for 305 in reply to 9/619, mostly through self-inflicted dismissals, home captain Daniel Vettori invited Virender Sehwag's men to bat again, with over two days left to play. In asking the tourists to follow on, the Kiwis allowed themselves an enhanced opportunity to finish India off if their bowlers were potent enough. It also allowed their opponents the chance to regain the momentum heading into the Third Test in Wellington, were they able to bat for an extended period of time and wear down the opposition bowlers.
As it was, New Zealand's bowlers were not able to remove the Indians second time round on the benign pitch. With a far more disciplined display in the second innings, India were able to bat for 180 overs in the second innings and compile 4/576 to save the Test.
From a position of possibly facing humiliation against a far weaker opponent, the circumstances provided India's batsmen the opportunity to hone an aspect of their game that had not been required for the best part of the year—the ability to bat for long periods to save a Test.
Leading the way was Gautam Gambhir, known more for his attacking play and at times hot-headed temperament. He batted through the entire fourth day, adding only 88 runs, an effort more reminiscent of his partner Rahul Dravid, whom he outlasted. Gambhir's knock is unlikely to go down in history as a stylist's delight, but it ensured that India entered the final day in a solid position. By the time he departedjust before tea on the final, India were 42 runs ahead with six wickets in hand.
The innings is another firm step in Gambhir's development into a world-leading batsman. Suppressing his feisty nature, which had twice earned appointments with the match referee for shoulder-barging, Gambhir eschewed his vigorous strokeplay and dropped anchor. In earlier years, he might have made a start and thrown it away, especially if he was bogged down and lost patience. However, on this occasion, he played like an opener of years gone by, ignoring countless balls outside off stump. In terms of attrition, Gambhir's innings lasted 643 minutes and 436 balls, 93 minutes and 56 balls than his pulsating 201 in front of an adoring crowd at the Feroz Shah Kotla against Australia last year. In proving his ability to adapt to the situation, albeit in favourable batting conditions, Gambhir has exhibited that he can be a world-class batting spearhead for the next decade.
Gambhir would have liked to have guided his country past the third new ball and safely to the end, and apart from a twitchy start by Yuvraj, India never looked in trouble again. They managed to maintain a high intensity for two days, something that had been conspicuously absent at the start of the match, and something that they needed to improve if they wanted to challenge the best in the world.
After the fatigued Gambhir had departed, New Zealand's bowlers, undoubtedly tired after toiling for three consecutive days on a flat pitch, were attacked by Yuvraj and Laxman after tea. In all, the pair added 120 runs in 122 minutes, and allowed Yuvraj, who up to that point had a wretched match with two dropped catches and a duck, to build some confidence ahead of the Third Test with a breezy unbeaten half-century. At the other end, VVS Laxman, who often appears to lack concentration when playing against teams other than Australia, made a polished 124 not out to end the match with exactly 200 runs in seven hours of batting. In addition to the gritty focus, the innings had no shortage of classic Laxman strokeplay. With the runs flowing, Yuvraj was still a chance of making his first Test century outside the subcontinent, which might have done his mindset a world of good considering the persistent criticism of his performances outside Asia, but the captains called the match off with an hour to go.
That Sehwag agreed to call off the match early was somewhat surprising, given that they had seized the momentum against a depleted attack after themselves being under the cosh for almost 4.5 days. Their effort in the field was disappointing, but after some encouraging progress had been made towards the end of an arduous five days, India called off the battle with New Zealand's tired bowlers on the run. It seemed like another mistake in what had been a forgettable match for the stand-in captain.
Jayawardene said the players just wanted to spend time with their families now.
