HAMILTON: Harbhajan Singh took six for 63 as India beat New Zealand by 10 wickets in the first cricket Test yesterday, posting its first Test win in New Zealand in 33 years to lead the three-match series 1-0.
India led by 241 runs on the first innings after replying with 520 to New Zealand’s 279, then dismissed New Zealand for 279 in its second innings, leaving itself only 39 runs for victory on the fourth day.
It reached that total without loss and in only 5.2 overs with Gautam Gambhir making 30 and Rahul Dravid 8.
New Zealand resumed its second innings at 75 for three, trailing India by 161 runs and slumped in the face of Harbhajan’s 23rd five-wicket bag in Tests to 199 for eight.
A 76-run 10th-wicket partnership between Brendon McCullum, who top-scored with 84, and Iain O’Brien, who reached his best score in Tests of 14, allowed New Zealand to avoid an innings defeat.
McCullum was the last man out and India was untroubled in reaching its winning target minutes ahead of the regular stumps time at 6 p.m.
Harbhajan hastened New Zealand’s decline, taking five of the seven wickets which fell yesterday, including those of Daniel Flynn for 67, Jesse Ryder for 21 and Daniel Vettori for 21, eliminating the main obstacles to India’s victory.
“It’s pretty disappointing,” McCullum said. “Playing at home you set high standards for yourself and we didn’t play to those standards.
“We pride ourselves on our fight and scrapping and I don’t think we fought and scrapped hard enough in this Test.”
India held a vice like grip on the Test from the first day when, after winning the toss and making the unexpected decision to bowl first, it reduced New Zealand to 60 for six before lunch.
“We chose to field first and the bowlers proved that my decision was right,”
India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said. “We got six early wickets and after lunch the pitch became easy to bat on and it wasn’t easy getting wickets after that.”
India last claimed a Test at New Zealand in 1976, when it won by eight wickets at Auckland. It has not won a Test series in New Zealand since 1968.
The second Test starts in Napier on Thursday.
