Dhoni's soft option not the way to win series

As it was, Surti fell for ninety-nine in his last Test innings to Gary Barlett, a bowler with a suspect action (he would have been placed on report under today's International Cricket Council fifteen per cent elbow extension allowance). Pataudi though felt with a lead of 374 and 270 minutes left in the game, his bowlers would do the job. And this was during a tour where the was hardly rain to speak of except Auckland the first two days, and it didn't require an eleven-hour innings to save a Test and the series.


Pataudi believed in his bowlers and Prasanna and Bedi won the game with quality spin; Prasanna eight in the game and Bedi three for 14 in the second innings. The Kiwis were dismissed for 101 in 61.4 overs. Now that was as poor as any batting effort New Zealand had managed in the decade between the England tour of 1958 and India's success on their first tour of the Shaky Isles.


In fact, New Zealand toured India twice before Pataudi's reciprocal tour, which ended with a 3-1 series win.


How different to MS Dhoni's indecision this tour in Wellington. Panic in the ranks in Napier gave way to some solid lower-order self-belief at the Basin Reserve. Daniel Vettori, winning the toss gambled in his seam bowlers knocking over the tourists. It didn't quite work.


And when the Kiwis failed to put a solid response together, the decision to bat on and on and on ... made no sense at all. What did he expect this modest New Zealand side to perform a miracle. He obviously didn't trust his bowlers to take ten wickets, and what the management thinking is here needs to be questioned.


It said, in bold letters, we lead 1-0 and will aim to keep it 1-0 and will go for 2-0 if we feel there is a chance to do so. Any team that leaves their opposition 600-plus runs to score in a fourth innings and eat up as much time as possible showed that India were genuinely scared to lose; they had more faith in the New Zealand batting than did the Kiwis themselves.


Anyone who knows Wellington would tell you how a wind off the Antarctic would blow squalls in from that region. Obviously, India had forgotten. And, just to rub it in, a family member (a grand niece) who watched the Test emailed, 'What's wrong with Dhoni? He didn't trust his bowlers to knock New Zealand over in four sessions for 300 – what is their problem? Not enough self-belief it seems.'


Nicky is a women's provincial player and wondered also what Dhoni was fussing over.