Cricket: NZ may thank India for exposing Achilles heel

By Richard Boock

Sometime between now and the start of the World Cup, the New Zealand cricketers might pause to give thanks to India.

It might not happen straight away, given they now trail 2-1 in the Bank of New Zealand one-day series with just tomorrow's match in Christchurch remaining, but hopefully the penny will drop before the South Africans arrive, and at least before the big trek to England.

India, in winning Saturday's fourth ODI by five wickets, were able to show New Zealand that its traditional one-day strength - slow bowling - is in danger of becoming the side's Achilles heel.

The tourists struggled at times against the brisk seam attack of Chris Cairns, Simon Doull and Dion Nash, but positively flourished when pace was substituted by flight - eventually romping home with more than six overs up their sleeves.

To be fair, India were only chasing a modest 208 for the win after New Zealand batted first on a seaming pitch, but any chance of them being restricted disappeared when Nash invited his slower bowlers to operate through the middle of the innings.

While Cairns, Nash and Gavin Larsen went for around three an over, Daniel Vettori and Chris Harris conceded a total of 74 runs off 11 overs, and with it, effectively the match.

Vettori in particular was put to the sword by Mohammad Azharuddin and Ajay Jadeja, who each hit him for six during the 31st over of the innings, and although Doull came back to dismiss both batsmen, the situation had become terminal for New Zealand.

The writing might have been on the wall when Nash lost a critical toss on Saturday morning and Azharuddin - after carefully considering his options for what seemed a nanosecond - gleefully invited New Zealand to bat.

Only three overs and one ball later Bryan Young, Matt Horne and Roger Twose were back inside the hutch as Javagal Srinath and Venkat Prasad warmed to their work, and it was only some graft from Cairns, and late flurries from Harris and Vettori that pushed the Kiwi total beyond 200.

India suffered an early blow in their chase when - just after scoring his 8000th ODI run - Sachin Tendulkar was on the end of a dubious lbw decision, but were put back on track by an 88-run second-wicket partnership between Saurav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid.

Ganguly went for his shots, posting his 21st ODI 50 off 69 balls, while Dravid was even a shade quicker, bringing up his 13th ODI 50 off 67 balls.

The pair were both dismissed by Cairns when he came back for his second spell, but Azharuddin and Jadeja continued to score at a breezy pace, their 64-run fourth-wicket stand carrying India to the brink of the win.

New Zealand coach Steve Rixon said afterwards that the loss was not indicative of any loss of momentum on his side's part.

"The toss had a large influence on the game and we don't see any need to panic," he said. "It's one of the few times recently where the toss has had a bearing on the result, so while it's disappointing to lose, I think we're still in good shape for Christchurch."

Rixon confirmed that injured New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming would not risk his fitness in tomorrow's day-nighter, saying it was more important for him to make a full recovery in time for the South African tour.