India v New Zealand: A hard-fought 43 years of Tests (18 December 1998)

18 December 1998

India v New Zealand: A hard-fought 43 years of Tests

The Christchurch Press

The Black Caps could do worse than follow the lead of distinguished Canterbury cricketers Graham Dowling and Sir Richard Hadlee, who played prominent parts in New Zealand test-cricket wins against India.

From 35 meetings at test level, New Zealand has won six, lost 13, and drawn 16 matches. The first victory came 30 years ago at Lancaster Park and was full of incident and controversy.

Captain and opener Dowling scored a monumental 239, the highest score in New Zealand cricket history at the time, at Lancaster Park in 1968.

That provided the thrust for New Zealand's massive first innings of 502, Dowling displaying the kind of application needed by the top order of today, batting for over nine hours and hitting five sixes, 28 fours, and a five.

New Zealand's bowlers then took over and with another Cantabrian, stalwart pace bowler Dick Motz, wreaking havoc with six for 63, India was dismissed in its first innings for 288.

Forced to follow-on, India made 301 in its second turn, this time with another speedster, Gary Bartlett, of Blenheim, doing most damage with six for 38.

Bartlett's bowling action was deemed suspect and the Indians objected to it, but he was not called for throwing.

In protest, India's opening bowler Abid Ali deliberately threw a delivery and was no-balled in New Zealand's second innings, when it wanted just 88 to win.

Despite its wonderful performance, New Zealand lost that series, 3-1.

Two seasons later, New Zealand captured its first win on the Indian sub-continent. It won the second test at Nagpur, with Dowling posting 69 in New Zealand's first innings of 319.

The match-winning performance in that game came from left-arm slow bowler Hedley Howarth who took four first-innings wickets and five for 34 in the second as the home team folded for just 109. That three-test series was squared 1-1.

New Zealand's next match win, in 1976 at Wellington, marked the emergence of Richard - today, Sir Richard - Hadlee as a pace bowler of international class.

After taking four first-innings wickets, Hadlee demolished India's second innings with seven for 23 from 8.3 overs as the visitors made just 81. Again, the series was squared.

Hadlee made less of a contribution to New Zealand's next win against India, again at Wellington, in 1981, taking no wickets in the Indian first innings. He rectified that rare lapse in the second with four for 65 as India was dismissed for 190, needing 252 runs for victory. The remaining two tests were drawn and the series won.

New Zealand's other success on Indian soil, in 1988-89 in Bombay, was another Hadlee bowling benefit . After losing the first test, where Hadlee became world cricket's leading test wicket-taker and most of the side was ill, the team bounced back in the next match.

Hadlee had hauls of six for 49 from 20.5 overs and four for 39 in the second innings as New Zealand completed a stunning 136-run victory.

In the second innings, Hadlee and off-spinner John Bracewell took all 10 wickets.

However, the momentum could not be maintained and the final test was lost, for a 2-1 series defeat.

New Zealand's most recent test-series win against India came nine seasons ago at Lancaster Park with Hadlee again in record-breaking mode.

Hadlee, battling to regain full fitness, only came into the match as a replacement for the injured Willie Watson, but made his mark when dismissing Sanjey Manjrekar to become the first player take 400 test wickets.

He took three for 45 in that innings, but to some degree was overshadowed by Danny Morrison who captured five wickets.

In the second innings Hadlee spearheaded the attack, again with four for 69, and New Zealand was a 10-wicket winner.

New Zealand had notched up 459 from its first innings, with the Canterbury-raised John Wright posting his highest test score of 185.

Source :: The Christchurch Press (https://www.press.co.nz/)