New Zealand v India - First Test

Lancaster Park, Christchurch

New Zealand: GM Turner, B Sutcliffe, BE Congdon, MD Crowe, MP Donnelly, *JR Reid, +KJ Wadsworth, BR Taylor, RO Collinge, J Cowie, HJ Howarth.
India: M Prabhakar, MH Mankad, M Amarnath, VS Hazare, DB Vengsarkar, *MAK Pataudi, Kapil Dev, DG Phadkar, +SMH Kirmani, L Amar Singh, S Venkataraghavan.

Debuts: Nil
Umpires: BC Cooray (SL) & HD Bird (ENG)
Toss: New Zealand

Both teams were hit hard by injury in the build up to the first Test, and although the tourists lost the services of perhaps their two best batsmen in Gavaskar (calf) and Azharuddin (hamstring) as well as leg spinner Fergie Gupte (rib), one could not help thinking that the shoulder injury that may yet rule Richard Hadlee out of the entire series may well prove to be the most significant ailment in either camp.

Nonetheless, New Zealand made an excellent start on a good batting wicket in Christchurch, and by the end of the first day they had reached an impressive 305-3, with Glenn Turner having fallen just two runs short of his century and both Crowe and Donnelly still at the crease and both past fifty. Crowe became the twelfth player, and the first from New Zealand, to be dismissed for 99 when he was trapped plumb in front by Mankad on a rain-hit second morning, and although Donnelly did make it to three figures, the innings subsided alarmingly thereafter as Venkat ran through the late middle order in the afternoon session.

The Kiwis lost their last seven wickets for just 48 runs to be all out for 421, but by the close of the second day India were already 71-3, and it took a real team effort to haul the innings back on track during the course of an overcast day three. New Zealand were hampered by the loss of Collinge with an ankle injury for much of the innings, but both Taylor and Howarth bowled well in limiting the Indians to 318 and a deficit of 103. Vengsarkar's fluent 55 was the top score, and a tenth wicket stand of 40 between Kirmani (54) and Venkat (6) would eventually prove to be more than just an irritant for the Blackcaps.

Just as in the first innings, New Zealand made a good start in their second dig, with Turner and Sutcliffe - whose selection over Bruce Edgar had irked many home fans - adding 93 for the first wicket, and although Turner again fell short of a century, the scoreboard read a comfortable 202-3 midway through the fourth afternoon. However, just as in the first innings, the wheels again fell off for the Kiwis, and this time it was Mankad, with his best ever ATG figures, then Kapil Dev with the second new ball, who engineered the collapse. New Zealand lost their last seven wickets for 40 runs, an even more calamitous slide than in the first innings, and a total of 242 set India a target of 346 to win in the best part of four sessions.

With the pitch still playing fair the chase was on for India, but a disastrous final morning rocked the tourists on their heels. The runs came at a good rate but so did the wickets, and by lunch the scoreboard read 162-5, with John Reid having picked up the wickets of Amarnath (44), Hazare (28) and Vengsarkar (7) as the ball nibbled around both in the air and off the seam for New Zealand's skipper. His opposite number was still at the crease though, and the afternoon belonged to India as Pataudi and Kapil Dev staged a stirring recovery. The pair added 127 with a fine display of controlled aggression, and as is so often the case the more the runs flowed, the less the ball seemed to do for the bowlers. New Zealand were really missing Richard Hadlee at this stage, and when Wadsworth spilled a leg side chance off Crowe's part-time medium pace to give Kapil Dev a life on 33*, one could see the pendulum swinging back the way of the tourists.

India took tea on 289-5, just 57 runs away from victory with a minimum of 28 overs remaining, and the new ball was now New Zealand's last chance. Jack Cowie had bowled horribly up to this point, but in the space of half an hour after tea he thrust his team back into the match with a three wicket burst that crucially included the scalps of both Pataudi and Kapil Dev. After adding 151 with Kapil, Pataudi played on just three runs short of what would have been his maiden ATG hundred, and when Kapil Dev was defeated by a yorker on 68, India were still 34 runs short with just two wickets in hand. Kirmani looked confident though, and along with Amar Singh (7) he took the total to 338-8 before Collinge burst through Singh's defences, making it eight runs to win for India and one wicket to win for New Zealand.

The tension was almost unbearable by now, but Kirmani still held firm, and in Cowie's next over India's keeper pushed a straight drive narrowly back past the non-striker's stumps, enabling him to complete the two runs that sealed an incredible victory for India. Kirmani finished on 24* to go with his first innings fifty, and India's total of 346-9 was the third highest ever to win an ATG Test. New Zealand had lost after rattling up 421 in their first innings, and collapses in both innings had eventually cost them dear. India were nonetheless good value for their victory, and what promised to be a low key series has begun with one of the greatest Tests in recent memory.

Scores
NZL 1st Inns 421 (Donnelly 105, Crowe 99, Turner 98; Venkat 6-100)
IND 1st Inns 318 (Vengsarkar 55, Kirmani 54, Kapil Dev 48; Taylor 4-84)
NZL 2nd Inns 242 (Turner 75, Crowe 68, Sutcliffe 47; Mankad 4-79)
IND 2nd Inns 346-9 (Pataudi 97, Kapil Dev 64, Mankad 52, Amarnath 44)

INDIA WON BY 1 WICKET


Man of the Match: Kapil Dev