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November 24, 2010

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Spinners do the trick for India

INDIA'S spinners rediscovered their best form, destroying New Zealand's batting lineup to record an emphatic innings and 198-run victory in the final test in Nagpur yesterday, claiming the three-test series 1-0.

Harbhajan Singh, Pragyan Ojha and part-timer Suresh Raina took turns to torment the batsmen on a pitch that aided spin, and the Kiwis lost their last nine batsmen in just over a session.

New Zealand was all out for 175, with Harbhajan taking three wickets to run through the middle order, before paceman Ishant Sharma also got three scalps to clean up the tail.

New Zealand, which had a first-innings deficit of 373, will be disappointed with a meek surrender in the final test after stubborn efforts forced draws against the odds in the opening two matches.

Harbhajan Singh (3-56), Pragyan Ojha (2-67) and Suresh Raina (2-1) took a couple of wickets each in the morning session to push New Zealand toward defeat, reducing the visitors to 140-8 at lunch. Ishant Sharma (3-15) dismissed the tailenders to end the match with more than four sessions left to play.

India's bowlers had come in for some criticism after the No.1-ranked test nation struggled for wickets against the relatively modest Black Caps' batting lineup in the opening two tests. However, they responded impressively from the very start of yesterday's play.

"Teams touring India expect pitches to help spin, but there was nothing for the bowlers in the first two tests," said captain Dhoni. "There was enough spin here, which helped us wrap up the match much earlier than we had expected."

Rahul Dravid, who scored 191 runs for India, was declared man of the match. The man of the series award went to Harbhajan Singh, who scored a surprising 315 runs in the series and also got 10 wickets.

Harbhajan Singh had become the first number eight batsman to score centuries in two consecutive test matches at Ahmedabad and Hyderabad.

In Abu Dhabi, South Africa has a lead of 323 runs with six second-innings wickets in hand as it attempts to force a win in the second and final test against Pakistan.

South Africa closed at 173-4 after dismissing Pakistan for 434 for a lead of 150.

Abdur Rehman (60) scored a maiden test fifty as Pakistan avoided the follow-on. He then took three wickets to check South Africa's progress on a flat pitch.

Hashim Amla (62) struck yet another half-century to become the third batsman this year to score 1000 runs.



 

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