A 2-0 victory would have been a more correct index of the difference between India and New Zealand. The visitors appeared only too satisfied with a 1-0 win. This is not how champion teams play, and if India aspire to knock Australia off the perch at the top, they will have to be more ruthless in their approach, more focused, and not so easily satisfied. Suresh Menon has more in Dreamcricket.com.
In the end, a series victory in New Zealand will deflect the questions that need to be asked of the Indian captain. The fact that it has come after four decades will mean that Mahendra Singh Dhoni's curiously defensive captaincy won't come under scrutiny. It was the Indian captain's inexplicable defensiveness that decided the Test in Hamilton, and not the rain.
Martin Crowe apologising about his criticism of the stand-in Indian skipper Virender Sehwag, Brendon McCullum's dismissal and the person who gave Jesse Ryder a new bat. These are among Paul Holden's picks for the 10 muppets from the third Test between New Zealand and India in Wellington. Read more on his blog Sideline Slogger.
Muppet #7: Whoever came up with the rule at the Basin Reserve that punters must enter the ground in the lunch break only through the two tiny gates at each end. That would be at the two skinniest points around the perimeter and away from where most of the people were sitting. Pity the security guards who were abused for their lack of common sense as they tried in vain to enforce the rule.
In the New Zealand Herald, Chris Rattue looks back at a cricketing summer of relentless frustration and fascination for New Zealand.
All things considered, the national side almost copes, although it is an eternal frustration that the lack of anything approaching B-grade opening batsmen prevents the Black Caps from realising their potential. This is the handbrake on New Zealand cricket. Whatever New Zealand Cricket is doing to find openers, it ain't working. If ever a sport needed to put together a think tank in an effort to sort out a specific problem, then this is the cause.
In the same paper, David Leggat lists the top ten moments of India's tour.
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