MS Dhoni is an attacking captain, New Zealand have one of the
weakest bowling attacks in international cricket while India have one of
the strongest batting line-ups. If Hamilton is any indication, anything
less than a 3-0 win for India would count as unsatisfactory. New Zealand's
best bet is to prepare seaming tracks that suit their bowlers, and hope
their batsmen fare better against India's medium-pacers.

In 1967, India lost 4-0 to Australia, and skipper Tiger Pataudi said at the
end of that series that "just as we were beginning to find our feet, the
series was over." A 2-2 finish might have been a fairer result, but by the
time the team arrived in New Zealand, India had found their bearings. They
won 3-1, the last time they won a series in New Zealand. Statistically, it
is still India's best performance abroad; it was also the first time
India had won the first Test of an away series.

One bad afternoon's cricket has spelt the end of India's dreams in the
first Test of many series. Even in the 1990s, a decade by when
professionalism in attitude and physical fitness is supposed to have
finally arrived in India, they continued to lose the first Test with
alarming regularity. Only twice in the decade, in Bangladesh and
Zimbabwe did they win the first Test. In 22 series abroad, they lost the
first Test 12 times. Before that, first-Test wins in Auckland in 1976 and
Lord's in 1986, merely served to show up the overall poor record.

Sourav Ganguly first began to reverse the trend, and now Dhoni has carried
it forward. If one decade's positive cricket has served to erase more than
half a century's uncertainty before that, then that might be the real
significance of the Hamilton win.

The great thing about this Indian team is that they aren't going to take this one win and be satisfied which was the case before. They need to ride this high into a strong series win, then go and beat West Indies and have a strong showing right throughout the year right into 2010 when we go to South Africa. If we win that series I think it will go a long way to prove we are the best. Until then we are one of the best. We have all the opportunities we need, ahead of us, now we just need to grab them. But until now since Dhoni took over in ODI's we have won almost everything except that Asia Cup debacle. We have won every test series also under him. I think as time goes by more and more coffins will be nailed shut and that's when we can take the mantle of the best team out there.

I think even in South Africa ,India won the first test ,the thing to notice here is both in Srilanka and Australia ODI series is followed by the test series and in south Africa and here in Nz india played the shorter form of the game first.India lose the ODI series against the strong SA before winning t20 and first test and lost both T20's here.So it always takes time for India to settle down,but once they are acclimatised they are hard to beat

Yeah agree.. Its all about having good bowling attack for India. Batting have never a concern

Another 'trend' to watch out for would be the 2nd Test Blues- losing the next Test Match immediately after having won the 1st. It has happened in the past.Donno why? May be to keep the TV TRP ratings high throughout the series. We will soon find out.

It has put to end all the doubts that India will struggle in NZ still few people doubt about India's ability when it comes to playing in the 'foreign' conditions, India have won series against England in England in 'foreign conditions' they also beat SA and Australia at Perth supposedly the fastest pitch in the world they beat Aus in India, India drew series against Aus is 2003 after winning in 2001 they lost the series against Aus in 2004 again lost 2-1, though Sydney loss was marred with controversy they again won the series against Aus, India have also beaten Pakistan their recent ODI victories is also very good winning series in Aus and against SL twice in their own backyards, India is peaking at the right time India have surely won laurels by winning at Hamilton, if NZ prepare seaming tracks they think they are safe they are not they might be bowlded for 120 so kudos to India

Its true that Team India was having *(and we cant say on the basis of a single performance that they have found the solution)problem of adaptation in the first game of every abroad series. Their performance improved as the series progressed and the best came in the last game of the series. This time for a change they have beaten Newzealad comprehensively and that too without any practice games!!Is this the emergence of a very bold and confident new Team India?? Before passing any judgement I think that we should wait and watch their performance in the coming abroad series.For the moment let us enjoy dominance of Dhoni's men over kiwis and and pray for another record breaking performance from this rejuvenated unit..

Correctly pointed. Indeed this Indian team looks a bit different and have some results to show, and looks like coming out with flying colors on their first tour outside the sub-continent. But before we put them on the high pedestal lets see if they can reverse the trend of losing an overseas test immediately after winning one. They are yet to have the sterner tests like SA in SA. Lets see hoe Dhoni and Yuvraj perform in swinging, bowler friendly conditions.

truly said.
the golden period -I would be proud to say that-started in 2001 epic-Test in Calcutta and Ganguly was the man who loudly proclaimed Indians are not coward, but brave and sel-confident. And Dhoni is the next best thing after Tendulkar that has happened to Indian cricket.He is just a phenominon.

Yeah.. lets hope the Hamilton win will be the harbinger to more momentous achievements in Indian cricket :D..

Not sure about the enduring allure of calling 140 KPH bowlers as medium pacers.

To a large degree, the first test blues of recent series were due to absurd scheduling (case in point: Australia, where India could not get even 1 full practice game). In New Zealand, India had been playing for few weeks now and had acclimatized to the conditions. Hence the superb performance. Actually, if you look at the first match of the series, i.e. th T20, India promptly lost.

Absolutely right. Dhoni bringing the India into the right way. Wishes to team India

Give the 10 Players of INDIA excluding Dhoni to Bangladesh and let Ashraful captain the 10 Indians.... These India will hand Ashraful a Victory. but let me tell you one thing, if Zaheer and Ishant are injured........ then I bet India would win.....?

Certainly, MS Dhoni has carried forwarded a conscious effort made by the 4 stalwarts in the decade and one hopes this is beginning of yet another era. There is no better felling than being an Indian fan these days.
I also feel there are always negatives to be taken from each win, and so are there with this win. In this test, in both the innings, the Indians bowlers had this traditional shortcoming of wrapping the tale up. But I am sure Dhoni is a smart enough captain to work on that and go on and have a more comprehensive win in the next test match.

Let's put things in perspective. These Newzealanders are not World beaters and Sachin Tendulkar continues to be a phenomenon who never ceases to astonish fans around the World. And the pitches this time around in Newzealand were never going to be like last time after all the criticism. All in all, it would have been only surprising if India had not wont the Hamilton Test.

"safety First" has been the Indian mantra for a long time. Counter attack a term unknown to batsman, and survival was the theme. The other affliction was "respect" for the opposing team while having a low self image. Well with Tiger Pataudi a slow but sure change came about. Although several other teams after still showed tendencies to revert. Ganguli is the modern architect of Team India. Aggression and self belief coming to the
fore. A little step back with conservative Dravid. Now a confident Dhoni. Little things show their attitude. No major celebrations after a victory. After all they play to win and expect to win. Wins should not be rare, Losses should be in this new dispensation.

India is still a poor starter and takes a while to settle their nerves and get used to the conditions; This time they lost the T20 matches against the Kiwis. However they have comeback well from that to win the ODI series and the first test against probably the worst Kiwi team we have had to face in decades.

The team composition is good but India still lack in few areas: a genuine quickie and a quality balling all rounder. This weakness will be more apparent when they face the best teams - currently Proteas and Ausies. These gaps need to be filled in if they need sustain the recent success story to become a top team.

Best collective team performance by India team. Go India Go

Dhoni's boys don't carry the burden of history. Man for man they may or may not be as talented, as some of the teams of the past, but what they have more than all teams of the past combined is - CONVICTION - And I think there is more self belief in them to win, and wanting to win more than teams past. That is true of India as a country today, where the shackles of past mediocrity is thrown off, and while the old generation asks : Why, the younger generation asks : Why not? As I said, there may or may not be a world of difference in capability, but it speaks volumes of who we finally are as a nation : We belong right up there with the best, and there is no one, not history books, not horror stories of the past that is going to shake us out of it. Saurav, and now Dhoni carry that "in your face" attitude, and we will now see India win a lot more than they will lose in the years to come. Enough of reliving the ghosts of the past - its time to chalk up a new present. Jai Ho India!

I think the most common pattern on occasions when we have lost the first test of a series is the fact that the one-dayers have followed the test series. Maybe ODI matches, when played first, have served as the right platform to acclimatise. And in the 60s and 70s, there were no ODIs played as part of a series either. That only leaves me to wonder if the tour games have ever helped India or are they just too far off from the real thing.

Suresh, you are celebrating too early, one win in foreign conditions ain't enough to make India a great team. To be no 1, we need to beat all test nations consistently home and away and India have still some way to go. Maybe if they win this series 2-0 or 2-1, I would say that they are on the right track. Let's not forget that no Indian team has been consistent in winning matches, not even Ganguly's team. They had the habit of winning an odd match in a series and then losing the plot, remember the series against West Indies in 2002, and the tour against South Africa in mid 2000s. So please let us not celebrate, we have still miles to go, although we have improved a lot.

I think that the schedule/order of games is a more sensible one in this tour. For a lot of India's previous tours- regardless of the country- we played test series first, lost the first match, and never really completely recovered from that. Then we played ODIs and team would do relatively well. This time, we played the not-so-important T20s first, then the ODIs which got the team going, and the first test didn't feel like a first game of the series, and I'm sure that helped. So some credit should go to the authorities or BCCI or whoever planned this schedule.

While this win is extremely commendable; one must not forget that the conditions on the last tour were far different; rank bad pitches totally in favor of NZ; and a much stronger NZ team with Shane Bond/Stephen Fleming et al. One must keep that in perspective while praising this team & downplaying the past Indian team

trends dont matter so much in cricket because they are always set and broken. what matters is how long are the teams able to carry it forward. indian win in the first test at hamilton is a great achievement but going by the present mindset n form they shundn't worry much about the trends and records , instead eye a 3-0 win which will establish the fact that india is the best team in the world right now and any team has to better than them to beat them.

well said. i do believe though, that India still do not prepare themselves adequately for overseas tours like they ought to... This was made palpably obvious during the final ODI where the batting order fell apart on a seaming wicket. While I still believe that we'd have prevailed, it might have been a different matter if we'd been asked / chosen to bat first in the first test.

Dhoni must've learned from the cock-up in the last ODI ...

Please remember, India lost the 2 T-20's at the start of the series. We need to plan out tours better and ensure the team gets at least 2 practice matches to get used to local conditions.

well said menon indeed, INDIA is reversing the trend of records set by predecessors...the current team are just so awesome n agressive..continue rocking..

Great points, Suresh, but did Ganguly deserve only a passing mention in the last paragraph? The emergence of India as a true cricketing power began with him, much as the ability to take a stand began with Sunny, or the popularization with the masses with Kapil. These three will remain my Trinity (or should that be Trimurti?) of Indian cricket... in that spirit, maybe Greg Chappell deserves a mention as the almost 'destroyer'?? :)

WE are very over optimistic when we say India will win by 3-0 margin , I would say a 2-0 is on cards and India should settle with that :)

well said suresh. Really its a great feeling having won the first test. But i am afraid of loosing the exitement of winning matches if we do it on a regular basis. Personally i am not that excited about the win, though i would have shattered if we loose. cricket newzealand could have tried injecting some spice into the series (likes of racial abuse and crap; but unfortunately its not aussies we are facing and the present hosts are suspeciously humble) to attract some competition into it. Our captain... mmm he is a great addition to our team since the last 20 years roughly and a much needed one too. My dear team, win at our own terms; we want you to win like indians. lou

That is because test matches always start before odi or t20. In the current tour, india had started with t20 and lost. They got into the groove during odi and were well prepared to tackle the test matches.

Seriously - how can we call this win significant when some of New Zealand's best players - like shane Bond - are not playing due to the BCCI's boycott of ICL players?

Well Done Team India !!!
Keep It Up.

Some of the analyssi is rather stereo type. One of the specialities of Test cricket is that it is unpredictable even in its predictability. I particularly take offence to the statement that the best hope for New Zealand is to prepare fast bouncy tracks.
The reality is that the so called pace bowlers of both the teams bowl at about the same pace. If anything, the Indians are more experienced in International cricket to handle these situations.
It would be better for both teams to take the pitch out of the equation - rather focus on the individual and collective weaknesses of the opposite team. In tests, SRT - into the body, RSD - bat pad gap and into the body, VVS - fishing outside off, YS - slower one and GG - fishing outside off have known weaknesses. Bowl to those weaknesses but not predictably. Collectively, NZ has to block boundaries - as Vettori said Indians are generally stroke makers and boundary ball players so you got to keep frustrating them.

defintely it is one of the defining moments of indian history.this current indian team has a perfect blend of youth and experience.to add to that they have a wonderful captain who has got an amazing thninking ability to take the correct decisions at crucial junctions.these are sunny days for indian cricket as definitely for the next couple of years this team will be conquering all the remaining frontiers comprehensively.it will be more memorable if the senior pros can post sum bigger scores as this will be their final tour.many people are saying that this is the weakest bowling atack of new zealand but remember they are the best of new zealand who are representing there country. so we should savour this wonderful victory and hope for some more wins in the next two matches.
three cheers for our blue eyed captain and team india.....

Congratulations to Team India!We should not call ourselves the best till we convincingly beat Austrelia and South Afiica in their Homeland.

Ok I'm going to be cynical. First, IND needs to win the series before talking about any series victory. History is for writers and commentators, players should get on the job and just finish it. Secondly, the first Test, despite excellent contributions from IND's side, was more of NZ losing than IND prevailing. And traditionally, NZ have been a better ODI unit than a Test unit, barring sporadic performances like in ENG '99. Finally, Dhoni should stop rotating the players and field the best unit to get a whitewash if IND wins the second test. We all know how the dead rubber syndrome affects teams on a momentum (like it did for IND in the just-concluded ODI series, for RSA in Aus 2008-09 and as it is happening for AUS in Cape Town at the moment) so it would be a strong statement from him to do that. Not only would it make the team water-tight to get into, it would also sound an ominous warning to other international teams.

What medium pacers are you talking about? The Indian opening pair are fast bowlers and one of the best opening pairs out there. If New Zealand prepare pitches to suit their bowlers, these will also suit the Indians. When you then factor in a batting line up that frankly should be expected to take apart any bowling regardless of wicket, there really isn't any point in this conjecture. I think New Zealand should just prepare seaming pitches to get this tiresome discussion out of the way. The Indian batting line up will still score heavily and the New Zealand batsmen will collapse under swinging and seaming conditions, and finally we'll be free of peopl looking for reasons not to accept India as the good side that they are.

India has won the battle, war is yet to be over... that's one of the reason, they haven't celebrated 1st test victory like the previous overseas victories.
11 players on the ground, are supposed to be the best players for that nation. So, it's unfair to undermine rest of the Kiwis b'cos of absence of 1 or the other player.
T20/ODI/Test, each needs a different mental state... so carrying momentum or loosing the opening games doesn't count much. 5 days - 15 sessions, one has to win it session by session. This time India has done it and let's hope that this is a historical turn for Indian cricket. 3 cheers for Indian cricket :)

The win is coincides with the reputation - India at no.3 and New Zealand at 8. Nature os Pitches has been changed as compared to earlier. Senior and experienced teamates(India) as compared to New Zealand.Anyway win is always win.Cheers India....!!!

i wish to reply to lyodn kishore sharma....firstly lyod...for ur kind information zaheer n ishant boel above 140 kph n they are genuinly fast bwlers...recently pieterson remarked that zaheer is the best left armm bowler he has ever palyed n about ishant sharma u shud better ask to ricky ponting...remember the ball which came 13 cm in to ponting in mohali test....n kishre only one player cant make a team win....i admit that shane wud hav made some difference bt the result wud hav been the same...this team india can beat any side in the world n that too anywhere....hail team india....for me they are the new champs...

I agree wholeheartedly with Harry V. But, lets not get carried away with one victory. Has to be 3-0. And I think Dhoni thinks along those lines. No more spineless captaincy, please.

Congrats to Dhoni and his men, keep up the pressure on those Kiwi's, good to see an all round batting performance, it is time to bring in Kaif and Rohit and groom them in to take Dravid and Laxman's place, they are not getting any younger, we still will have a strong batting line up, and all you guys leaving all these comments, who will be the next little master on the country, good luck to the Dhoni's men for the next two test matches.

Lets not focus on just one or two guys. The way this Indian team has evolved over the past 3-4 yrs, especially outside, has been truly 'team work'. They have been determined to prove that they are 'good' outside too and now they have enough results to show that, barring Sri Lanka. In addition, the bowling has improved by leaps and bounds and they are good enough to take 20 wickets of any team at a reasonable clip. In one word we are playing as a 'team'.

It does not make much sense to say some X was not playing so India won. Play to your best and win it. India did it and NZ could not. Ross taylor plays better. Kyle mills was in top 3 a while ago. But they failed to show their potential for some reason. So, they were outplayed. Aus lost "because all biggies retired" but eventually won on foreign soil with same mitchell johnson's magic who failed to show it while home. You have a team of 11 and play to your best with a pinch of luck. You win. Surely, ganguly gave a new definition to Indian team. But Dhoni is still young as a captain. He showed poor wisdom and creativity when Mccullum and O'Brien were batting. Fielding was at its terrible worst. Sehwag dropped a catch, Harbhajan could not bend and attempt one, Munaf was throwing off target, Yuvraj was lazy. They missed at least 3 run out chances because of their fielding. India is still in the same mood. We have "Good batting line up" we will win. Fortunately bowling is good. Fielding?

Kudos to team India... The one big thing i see in this side which make me feel this is the best team i have seen is that they are confident but they do know their limitations and dont get over confident this is the reason Dhoni is so successful and consistent unlike any previous Indian captain including Ganguly...Another point i wanted to raise is the way he lets every member in the team to be a leader with Sachin shows why he is the GOD of cricket he lets him work on rest of the team on technique like what he did to Harbhajan and Ishant as we read and letting Zaheer set the field talking to the bowler and his calm head unlike Ganguly and the best part is leading by example at the same time keep your opponent guessing. I liked when someone put it that Dhoni is the next big thing to cricket India after Sachin.. Hell right bud

Don't celebrate yet. We have a history of screwing up. Of course, NZ is a weak team but still we have to go out and perform.

This Shane Bond argument is bogus. Bond is beyond his peak now and has had several injuries. Also he went to ICL over IPL of his own volition for $$ knowing the rules that all Boards had agreed to.
Many NZers have admitted that the last series was like a lottery where even a trundler looked good. The games were close but India did not have extra ounce of push and luck to win it. I was there and saw the matches. The Indian equivalent would be to prepare a gravel pit where club spinners would look good.
This time Dhoni and co look good and as has been pointed out, the next 2 yrs will give us a clear idea. Batting replacements look better than opening bowler back-ups. This has to be addressed to maintain success.

It's because Ganguly has instilled a "no inferiority" in the team and Dhoni is running with it...Gavaskar had said it best before, India ned to loose the inferiority complex and they will do well...they have shaken it and are KICKING ass, it's about TIME...The youngsters are complimented well by the Seniors, Tendulkar, Dravid and VVS...Whip them 3-0.

Kishore Sharma, a win is a win regardless of the opponents...a test hundred us a test hundred...don't go spoilng it by your lame comment. and the won IN 4 DAYS...accept the fact that India is now a FORCE in international cricket...

I find some of the comments here apalling. Quite frankly I do not give a damn. If Shane bond is not playing, not my problem, I did not ask him to ... (in fact why just Bond, why not Hadlee or Turner or Sutcliffe or who ever else who did not play this match)Yes I would also like the team to win the series against the kangaroos and the springboks but winning away tests is something that should not be trashed. Did Australia win against when they came here, no ! Did we win in Australia yes! Same logic works against the South Africans. So we are doing good.

Cricket has become a business and India has well utilized it. Now you cant have any under performing player because he has certain political influence. Look at Indian hockey. Shewag was dropped and he regrouped and he is a nightmare for any team. Having said that this group plays like an unit. Lots of credit should go to Sourav to set this philosophy. Hope this trend will continue before the board comes with some stupid system of zone representation or reservation quotas!

This is one of the best teams in the world. Once we beat SA that claim of world champions is is well deserved since we beat aus, england, Srilanka and aussies in the triangular series and Pakistan in the last 2 years. Go dhoni and india n boys, don't take any headstrong racial crap from ponting and some of his buddies. Jai ho!!

It was fantastic victory by Indian Team and Dhoni has once again proved that he is far better than any other previous captains. Ifs and buts are always there. If shane bond was part of team. If Stephen fleming had not retired.

Saurav Ganguly had the same players and including him it was little better but he never performed as batsman for last 3 years as captain. His record as a batsman WHILE he was a captain is poor. He had his chance but lets accept the fact he and Indian Team are not as consistent and tough as this Indian Team under Dhoni. Series after Series they are breaking all jinx and Dhoni as a captain and as a batsman is proving to be far better than others. If anyone has doubts then go check the statistics and if you dont believe in statistics go and ask players and experts.
THIS INDIAN TEAM IS THE BEST INDIAN TEAM EVER AND THEY HAVE PROVED IN EVERY SERIES.
WHETHER U GUYS WANT TO SEE GLASS HALF FULL OR EMPTY IS UR CHOICE. I WOULD SAY 3/4 FULL AND BOWLING CAN IMPROVE

with the likes of sehwag ,sachin, rahul,gambhir in prime form even the best of attacks in world can get traumatized.this team is definitely going great gun and i can sense even bigger victories in the near future.they should keep the momentum going and look for 3-0 win.only cause of worry for dhoni and kirsten could be the inability of indian bowlers to wipe of the tail otherwise full marks to men in blue..

Congratulations to the Indian team. India still needs a few quick bowlers in Ishants category to polish off the tail. At 60/6, NZ should have been all out for 100-120 at the most. Australia or South Acrica would have gone all out for the kill if India were 60/6. I would love to see India have those quci bowlers and go to Windies and hurl down balls like Roberts Holding Garner and Marshall did to us. India is getting there, but as always, things are much to slow.

Sorry Kishory lal sharma if they don't have Bond on their side ( I have to say at the moment they need James Bond not Shane Bond to save themselves) its not India's problem. I am bit upset that you cannot appreciate what we have achieved here ...:)

Its all about the combined effort. The teams of the past, though could boast of some great individuals haven't combined so well. In those times we had to satisfy ourselves with some individual records.

I agree with Aswin and Kishore Sharma. They have basically called a spade, a spade. This team is definitly looking better than many other Indian teams but they really havent reversed any trend as such. Previous Indian teams started off with the test series and lost it. This one lost the T20 too. To give credit when its due, I must say that this team is getting acclimatised fast. Yet one must consider that last time when India toured NZL, they had Bond, Tuffey, a younger and fully fit Jacob Oram, Nathan Astle, Mark richardson, Stephen Fleming. This NZL team can just not be compared with that. As much as the Indian team deserves credit for their win, they are also helped by the fact that they are not up against the best NZL side ever. It would be interesting to see how this team performs in South Africa, especially given the fact that Steyn and Ntini blew us away for 76 in Ahmedabad last year

I am sick of the comments which are made here re Shane Bond .. It was six years ago .. why do we forget that the potency is lost .. and shane has made a choice to play in the ICL very well knowing the repurcussion.. isnt it similar to having bowlers or batter with injury that are not available.. lets cherish it and enjoy the win

There are various factors which are helping Team India build on the transformation and positive momentum. They have a great Leader, positive but not flashy, leads by example, and has unique ability to bring the best out of every member - there's complete role clarity for every member, in every situation. While there has always been a great talent pool, the difference now, is the team selection, which is different, and suited for each of the different forms of the game. The new ball attack has variety and is otent, and spin department is solid if not spectacular. General commitment, enthusiasm and athleticism is much improved. And there are sprinklings of a few super-stars, world class performers. Finally, the belief that they can challenge for the Top position in Team rankings - this is a heady combination! One may argue that this NZ team is not the strongest - but thats not the point. Its about Desire to Win every game, irrespective of class of opposition,or status of series!3 cheers!

India did start off this tour poorly. Remember the two 20/20 games where they looked anything but world champions. In hindsight, perhaps it is a good thing that India started off the tour with these games as they could find their bearings as the tour progressed and the results are there for all to see int he ODIs as well as the Hamilton test. At least, the board was 'magnanimous' to allow the team to come to NZ well in advance for preparation (one week) rather than just a couple of days as it happened last year when they came over to Australia.

True Dhoni brings a new phase of cricket to India. Indians now are more confident. Winning to them is not foreign to them anymore. I think Kumble too should get credit for this change in India's mind set. He did a great job in Australia last year and led from the front, that seemed to have rubbed off on his younger team mates. However Dhoni deserves full credit for seeing nothing less than victory for India, like Arjun, the Hero of the great epic Mahabharat.,

In last series , the same New Zealad team put Aussies under pressure with their superb bowling...so we can't say that New Zealand has a poor bowling attack....they have in their team bowlers like Denniel Vettory and Key Mills........But the fact is that Indian Batsmans outperformed them......

Dhoni is good captain and a pragmatic one ,but to call him aggressive is an over statement.Even in this test,balls were still flying in between slips when Indians were calling all the shots and could have done with a few more slip catchers.
Quite contrary to the assumption that Dravid was India's most conservative and non-aggressive captain in recent times,he was India's most aggressive as far as field placements go.

India had same team and even probably better team with sehwag. It is just that the captains are different. Dhonis is agressive , very instinctive and make right moves on the field. He outsmart outthink all opposition captains. If india looks like super team mainly because of dhoni. With dravid , india team was very hesistant to make moves. Dhoni is equal to MJ and tiger woods in making moves...but his wicket keeping and batting is so and so.

Thank Gambhir and Dravid for this win. Sehwag went unfortunately due to Gambhir's error of judgement. Had Dravid not been in good nick and had Tendulkar gone cheap, after hitting that agricultural shot that came close to becoming a catch, India would have been struggling. The self fulfilling prophecy of being poor travellers would have come true. When a test is won, the contributors are forgotten.

This win probably had a lot to do with the fact that the players had a reasonable period to get used to conditions. In the recent past, acclimatisation had to happen in the course of the first test. Even on this tour, we lost the first two games we played. Maybe the powers that be who fix itineraries will ponder on this (well, we live in hope!)

Kishore said it spot on! I would never consider this victory as an achievement. we are talking about a side for which vettori is the most dependable batsman! Till we defeat SA in SA, AUS in AUS we can never claim greatness.

it is a historic win... but india should not be complacent now. we must go for 3-0 series win.

Best in the world? Let's beat SA in SA and Aus in Aus before thinking that's a legit claim. No doubt India has an aggressive, imaginative captain backed by a deep bench and a talented team - with fire in the bowling and god only knows how much virtuosity in the batting. But even 3-0 in NZ (#8 ranked, as I recollect), even by 10 wicket or innings margins cannot justify the "best-in-world" conclusion. Yet. Patience, people.

costaz is right.. with this team any professional player can win matches.. credit must go to all our players who have done this much....

while congratulating mahi and his men for the glorious victory, the first afer many many years in NZ, one needs to have a close look on the fourth day late afternoons bowling performance by pace bowlers , zak, ishant and munaf.Together they bowled far too many short pitched deliveries which slowly took away our chance of beating blackcaps by an innings and some runs.Even new ball option at that point when bhaji is doing wonders with the worn out one is perhaps a point of debate. May be pitch condition had a lot to do at that time
This is not to take away the excellent performance yet again by the whole team and kudos to mahi and his men for keping up their date with winning when it matters.

I think bcci should stop planning shorter tour where the Indian team arrives and without any prematch practice which was in the case of this tour and also during Australian tour last season where despite a tour game we started our first test within a weeks time. So the best things to do would be to plan accordingly where the team gets atleast 2 weeks and couple of 3-4 day match before the tour matches.

I think one of the main reasons for India to win the first test in NZ in this series is the Tests have come at the end of the series i.e. the series started off with Two T20 games, which India duly lost to keep up their away record in tact, followed by Five ODIs which they won 3-1 with a game abandoned due to rain & then the First Test in Hamilton yesterday.

So, the moral of the story is, if India gets to acclimatise for about 4 to 6 weeks in a foreign country with lots of T20s & ODIs to play & play the tests at the end of the series, then there is very good chance of them not losing the first test.

You have to give credit to Dhoni to be so media savvy . I mean he is the most politically correct captain ever.He always says the right thing like this " gift to the seniors interview".He knows that one mistake and the Indian media will pound on him.

It isn't india s fault that newzealand dont have great players..kishor grow up man..huh

While the heart rejoices after another Indian win under the mercurial Dhoni, do we need to gloat over a win against a side which is a shade better than what Zimbabwe was in 2005? To really think that this was the final frontier is blasphemy. That will arrive when Dhoni's men take SA in SA and Aus in Aus, the only two countries where India has never won a series. Two frontiers still to go.

i think personally that this Newzealand team is the weakest in past decade.With fleming,astle,bond gone they would probably seem as no match for present indian team.The only hope for them is vettori.Credit goes to indian team for their performance in this test with sachin brilliant innings and some good bowling by bhajji,ishant(in 1st innings).I think anything less than 2-0 would be unsatisfactory for india

All in all ,, a good allround performance. only area of concern is the fitness level of the bowlers . the third seamer is vital , munaf has bowled well but i think india should look out at the other options as his fitness level is always a concern and he is inconsistent.

All in all ,, a good allround performance. only area of concern is the fitness level of the bowlers . the third seamer is vital , munaf has bowled well but i think india should look out at the other options as his fitness level is always a concern and he is inconsistent.

Problem with we Indians is that we dont appreciate our achievements.
Even if Dhoni team beat Aus and SA in coming days...people will still say that one win is a TUKKA (luck)...if they are good they should win at least twice.
Comeon guys...this team is best of Indian teams both in test as well as ODI. (I still think 20-20 is just a luck game).
Has any one noticed Dhoni's tactics...he plays with different set of players in ODI and Test matches...this is exactly the same thing Australia would do in past when they were number# 1 in all format of games....Dhoni you are master peice.

I think it is golden chance for indian team to win everything for "SACHIN TENDULKAR" at the last phase of his great careear.
in this order WORLD CUP 2011 wi is must.
well done india & carry on this attitude........

i think when we have legends like sachin , dravid ,vvs , shewag in the batting order we should have kumble, javagal srinath , zaheer and other great legends in the bowling attack too..........

The Shane Bond argument is completely valid. He is still the best bowler in the NZ domestic competition, and he had a pretty dam good test match record. Plus He had genuine pace like Ishant does. So he would make a world of difference to the NZ side if for nothing but they might have the penetration and confidence that they can actually bowl a team out. And for all you Indians complaining about it, if the shoe was on the other foot and say someone like Tendulkar was banned from playing you would all be moaning forever about it and every test loss would be becaus Sachin was not playing - My team is 8th in the world and playing like crap and the best bowler we have isnt allowed to play so im a tad angry about that!

Having said that I would not bet against a whitewash in the series. India are a really good team. Not the best team in the World (I think thats SA with a fully fit Graeme Smith) but close. Its bin great to have a team in the country that is truly great

Indian players of today are better equipped to be playing away matches and will do just fine in New Zealand as long as they stick to the basics of batting and bowling...with Dhoni at the helm and learning fast we should be fine,

The difference in experience between the 2 sides is huge. The Indian batsman would have played on almost every surface & conditions and experienced so many different match situations. They out though NZ in the 1st test. With this experience they have very good cricketing brains - The planning and knowing what is required in certain situations and collectively executing that plan. For example the Indian slow and steady 1st innings was uncharacteristic especially after seeing them smashing the same bowlers in the ODI's. But knowing that they had time to bat plus the ball was still moving a bit set up a substantial lead and ultimately the win.

A win is a win.. and Munaf was brilliant in patches and played his part, but I still feel Sreesant is the 3rd best pace option that is available and should be in the frame of things to lend the side some sort of edge if one of the top two is injured....if only he is smart enough to stay as a non-disruptive force in an otherwise cohesive looking unit....

It has become a trend now...If India looses they are a weak team...If India wins the opponents were week. When will our thinking and mentality change that INDIA is a good team which can win Matches. Which they have proven many times now. This series is not over yet...lets enjoy the win...however, wait for the series win to celebrate

This is historic win in NZ.After 33years we have won a test match in nz.Carry on Team India we can win the series defintely.

Not sure if I agree that Dhoni is a great captain - he is cool, has a great team backing him up i agree, but his field placement and some of his bowling changes (giving Yuvraj a 5 over old new ball to bowl) leaves much to be desired. Time and gain his own wicket-keeping has claerly not been upto mark.. I think we need to keep things in perspective !! Also did not find him attacking or full of Ideas when NZ went from 6/61 to a 184 run partnership - neither much originality, approach, or aggression!! I agree about the comment re: Ashraful being given the 10 india players sans Dhoni and he would win too. Dhoni clearly is wanting in many ways, so let us not get carried away!! Also cannot understand his innate desire to keep bowling Yuvraj, when time and again Sehwag & even Tendulkar with his variations have proven to be ebtter partnership breakers !!

India still is in trouble with the quickies as they are not consistent at every game . If we have a look at the recent australia team we will see some exciting bowlers who were able to use the subcontinental batting condition well and finally they won the series . However , it seems to me sometimes that indian pacers always try to get the swing rather than getting the line and length tight. Even if we have a look at the low profile team where the bowlers bowl maintaining good line and length , using good slowers , and yorkers in a batting friendly wicket where indian bowlers going for huge runs . Moreover, it has been seen in recent times that after getting a good start bowlers cant rip the tail enders with comprehensive bowling as it is evident in the first test against kiwis. I think indian quickies become over satisfied getting top and middle order batsman out and then show mercy for the lower orders . Gary should work with it . r

I am bit surprised with some of the statement which says without Dhoni captaining India ,India still continue to win in same pattern,I guess we are clearly underestimating Dhoni's telent.He is cool and always have ideas behind every move,He has given smile on millions of indian around the world and thats continous,Bravo Dhoni.

It is a wondeful team effort which made the victory possible for india. What a great palyer he is, that old war horse Sachin Tendulkar. Had it not been his mammoth innings, india would have been struggling. The killing instinct is still lacking with indians. Their inability to capture last four wickets after bulldozing the kiwi's top order in the first innings, leaves gaping mark on their killer instinct. Dhoni's captaincy also comes in to scrutiny here. Probably, he should have been shade aggressive in his approach at that point of time.

People here have a fixation with winning a series in Australia and SA. I do not deny the fact that it would make us undisputed champs like Michael Phelps in swimming. But for now I personally think that we beat Australia in atleast 1 test in Australia, and they did not beat us in India. We won the One dayers anyway, and against SA also we won a test out there. We are definitely better than Aus at this point of time and probably as good as South Africa, one more couplet of series between India and SA should make the difference out.