India beat New Zealand, end 41 year wait

The Indians paid dearly for their overcautious approach as rain robbed them of a victory in the third and final Test against New Zealand at the Basin Reserve here on Tuesday.

However, having won the first match in Hamilton, India secured the series 1-0, the first in New Zealand since 1967-68.

It rounded off a good tour for captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni though — India had earlier won the one-day series 3-1, their first in the shorter version of the game in New Zealand.

The scoreline should have read 2-0 in Tests but the defensive decision to bat on despite a 531-run lead on the fourth morning costed India heavily.

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India go to New Zealand via New Jersey

There is no doubt there is great camaraderie among the members of the M. S. Dhoni-led Indian side. The way the players have fun in the company of each other was for all too see here on Wednesday at the launch of the new Indian ODI kit by Nike. Master of ceremonies Harsha Bhogle kept the audience in good humour with his short Q&A sessions with MS Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh, Zaheer Khan, Rohit Sharma, Dinesh Karthik and Pragyan Ojha all of who walked the ramp in the new outfit.

"I am a bit scared of heights. I have not tried bungee jumping," said Dhoni, who has been invited by Ministry of Tourism in Auckland to try bungee jumping. "According to the contract (the players sign contracts with the BCCI before every tour), we cannot do bungee jumping."

Yuvraj Singh was at his usual witty self with his answers, choosing to add a 'ask Dhoni' to all his replies. Asked if he was happy batting at No. 4, Yuvraj said: "Very happy, but you have to ask Dhoni. He decides the batting order".

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