New Zealand vs India, 3rd ODI at Christchurch, Mar 08 2009 - Ball by Ball Commentary

The end of a highly entertaining game. India have gone up 2-0, and though the margin of victory - 58 runs - may indicate they won convincingly, New Zealand gave them a serious scare. Ryder and McCullum started off superbly , adding 166 in pretty quick time.

India were poor in the field to start with, dropping the openers and conceding quite a few runs by way of misfields and overthrows. However, Raina sparked somewhat of a revival after running out McCullum and Yuvraj followed suit, getting rid of Ross Taylor.

New Zealand lost eight wickets for 95 runs and that lost the match for them. There was superb resistance towards the end and it seemed at one point that Mills and Southee could make the Indians pay for letting it slip after they had been in command throughout the middle overs.

However, the visitors were just one wicket away from sealing a win, and once Mills was gone, so was the match for the home team. A competitive game nevertheless, and India have ensured they can't lose this series from here on.

McCullum: "We didn't bowl well enough. It was amazing batting from the Indians, but from our point of view we weren't accurate enough. I did enjoy the opportunity of captaining my side, but unfortunately we weren't good enough. The fact that Butler was injured halfway through the spell and that Oram wasn't able to finish his spell did affect us. A good opening stand was the only chance we had, but despite the slide later on, I'm proud of the way we played."

Dhoni: "It's disappointing we dropped those catches early on, the bowling was simply not up to the mark. It was a pleasure to watch Sachin, and Yuvraj, once he gets going, it's hard to stop him, especially on such grounds. Our batting is our strength, and if you post a big total you can put any side under pressure even if you are playing with four bowlers. We were worried about the scares during the opening stand and the late resistance, but it was all a matter of getting wickets which we managed to do"

Sachin Tendulkar is the Man of the Match: "I started off well in Wellington and was able to carry that form into this one. I haven't played as many ODIs in New Zealand as a result of injury, and it feels great to have scored my first century here. The pitch was excellent, so was the ground. You need to get used to the dimensions here and bat accordingly."

That's all from here folks, thanks for tuning in and sending us your feedback. Join us for the fourth ODI in Hamilton on March 11. Until then, it's goodbye from all of us here at Cricinfo. Adios!

Praveen Kumar to bowl to Southee

Zaheer's reaction was a mixture of both relief and frustration there, India should have closed this shut a while back but Mills has done superbly to get his team this far

Yusuf Pathan will fill in. The equation is now 61 off 34, and India have themselves to blame for allowing New Zealand pull up so close

Indians have been lax in the field for the last few overs and have paid the price. 71 needed off 36 now, doable, though still unlikely

77 needed off 39

Praveen Kumar comes on

This partnership is already worth 46, off just four overs