New Zealand v India - Series Summary

A 2-0 scoreline suggests a comfortable victory for India, but truth be told New Zealand were once again guilty of squandering chances and once again they were made to pay. The Kiwis had numerous chances to kill off the Indians in the first Test, but time and again they let their grip slip, and once India completed a miraculous one wicket victory, only rain in Napier prevented the tourists from sweeping the series.

Kapil Dev was the dominant factor in India's two victories, and his form in India's last three series would indicate that he is finally establishing himself as a force in the ATG world. Pataudi's captaincy did much to erase the memories of Gavaskar's acrimonious departure in the series against England, and India suddenly appear to have a settled side again ahead of the home series against West Indies. Hazare was the only disappointment for the tourists, but his previous form probably allows him such a blip.

As for New Zealand, it is a case of back to drawing board, just as it seems to be after every series for the beleaguered Kiwis. Reid bowled well but his batting form was poor, and his tenure as captain must be in doubt once again. Collinge and Taylor had their moments with the ball, but a continued lack of penetration from the spinners again left the attack one-dimensional - there were just three wickets in the 139 overs sent down by Messrs Howarth, Patel and Bracewell - and the absence of Hadlee for the first two Tests was a huge blow for the team. There were no five wicket hauls for the Blackcaps, compared to three for the Indians, and it was the same story with the bat, where Donnelly's lone century stacked up poorly against the four made by the tourists.

New Zealand's lack of conversion with both bat and ball certainly cost them dear, and the upcoming five Tests in the Caribbean must seem a hugely daunting prospect at the moment.

Leading Series Averages

New Zealand Batting

	M	I	No	Runs	HS	Avge	100	50
RJ Hadlee	1	2	-	101	57	50.50	-	1
MP Donnelly	3	6	1	242	105	48.40	1	1
MD Crowe	3	6	-	286	99	47.67	-	3
GM Turner	3	6	-	237	98	39.50	-	2
BA Edgar	1	2	-	58	58	29.00	-	1

New Zealand Bowling

	Overs	Runs	Wkts	Avge	Best	5I	10M
BE Congdon	30.0	94	6	15.67	4-1	-	-
RJ Hadlee	26.4	110	4	27.50	4-101	-	-
JR Reid	87.0	236	8	29.50	3-36	-	-
RO Collinge	107.5	299	10	29.90	4-88	-	-
BR Taylor	82.0	295	8	36.88	4-84	-	-

India Batting

	M	I	No	Runs	HS	Avge	100	50
M Azharuddin	2	3	-	213	110	71.00	1	1
Kapil Dev	3	5	1	276	149	69.00	1	1
SM Gavaskar	2	4	2	136	106*	68.00	1	-
SMH Kirmani	3	4	2	119	54	59.50	-	1
M Amarnath	3	5	-	218	100	43.60	1	-

India Bowling

	Overs	Runs	Wkts	Avge	Best	5I	10M
Kapil Dev	121.5	329	18	18.28	5-65	1	-
M Prabhakar	86.2	227	10	22.70	5-40	1	-
S Venkataraghavan	108.0	291	10	29.10	6-100	1	-
MH Mankad	80.4	216	7	30.86	4-79	-	-
L Amar Singh	110.0	282	9	31.33	3-56	-	-

INDIA WON THE SERIES 2-0


Men of the Series: MD Crowe & Kapil Dev