After many years of waiting, India looks set to finally notch up another series win in New Zealand, but Daniel Vettori’s men certainly won’t go down without a fight.
Gambhir scored 167 in India’s 349 for five at the close of play on the third day at the Basin Reserve, giving the visitors a 531-run lead while holding a 1-0 advantage in the series after winning the first match in Hamilton by 10 wickets.
The second Test in Napier would have served as a reminder to the Indians that while they have thoroughly dominated their hosts thus far, the Black Caps are no push-overs and are capable of putting the men from the sub-continent in a spot of bother.
With only a draw required to shut the series, it would be easy to adopt a negative approach to the game, playing for the draw from the onset, but Mahendra Dhoni’s troops have no plans to do so.
“It’s one of the most crucial games you will play. Once you have the mindset of going for a draw you are not aggressive enough to win a Test match. We will approach the game in the same way we approached the first or the second Test,” Dhoni said in the build-up to the game.
It’s must-win stuff for the Kiwis, and Vettori admits that a drawn series would not be a bad result.
New Zealand once again illustrated in Napier that while the likes of Chris Martin and Iain O’Brien are honest and hard-working seamers, the team lacks an out-and-out pace bowler who can knock over batsman on a flat track.
Tim Southee and Kyle Mills have been added to the Kiwis’ squad and Southee must be a favourite to replace Jeetan Patel in the starting XI.
Such a move would be hard on Patel who has held is own at McLean Park and at times looked more threatening than Vettori, but New Zealand need a strike bowler and will be hoping Southee can fill the role.
India are unlikely to make too many changes to a winning line-up, with the only change on the cards being the return of Dhoni, if the Indian skipper is able to recover from the back complaint that forced him to withdraw from the second Test.
Whilst Munaf Patel failed to impress at McLean Park, the five wickets he picked up in the first Test should be enough to ensure he keeps his spot, although the selectors may be tempted to give fellow seamer Lakshmipathy Balaji a run before the conclusion of the tour.
