Harbhajan Singh shines as India dismiss New Zealand to win Test series

New Zealand's batsmen surrendered meekly to India in the second innings on a turning day-four pitch at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur to give the hosts a 1-0 series win today. The fast bowler Ishant Sharma and off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, with three wickets each, led the attack who dismissed the tourists for 175 to win the deciding Test by an innings and 198 runs with more than a day and a half to spare. Rahul Dravid got the man-of- the-match award for his patient 191 in the first innings for India. Harbhajan was named the player of the series, having added the wickets of Gareth Hopkins and Ross Taylor to that of Tim McIntosh, the one New Zealand wicket to fall yesterday. "It's been a satisfying series, especially with the bat, but I think I could have got a few more wickets," the off-spinner, who scored two centuries in the series, said. The 30-year-old praised the pitch and said it had offered help to both batsmen and bowlers. "This was what we call an Indian wicket. If you are a good bowler you can take wickets and if you are a good batsman you can score runs," Harbhajan said. "This was probably the best wicket I have played on for many years now." The lanky Sharma attacked the stumps and clean bowled Kane Williamson, Tim Southee and Chris Martin. The left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha removed Brendon McCullum and Martin Guptill leg-before in consecutive deliveries and Suresh Raina chipped in with the wickets of Jesse Ryder and the New Zealand captain, Daniel Vettori, with his part-time off-spin. The five-match one-day international series between the sides starts on Sunday at Guwahati in north-east India. India, ranked No1 in the world in Tests, will tour South Africa next month, during which they will play three Tests. Their captain, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, acknowledged the importance of that series for India against the No2-ranked side in the world in Tests. "It is important for us as a team to do well in South Africa. After that there is the World Cup," Dhoni said. "We will try to take care of the process and accept whatever is the result. But we will like to give it our best shot.

Share: