The moment I switched on the TV set and saw the New Zealand batting card read 210/3, I knew something was amiss. Only moments later, I got to know through a news channel which was the flashing the ‘breaking news’ that MS Dhoni was unfit for the Napier Test due to a sore back and has had to sit out. My instant reaction was that’s why India’s struggling. Well, that wasn’t totally true as Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma once again rocked the Kiwi top order to give India an excellent start. However, it is a fact that, at the end of the day, the team sorely missed their inspirational and innovative captain in the field. It not only allowed New Zealand to recover from a precarious situation but also put them in a position to dominate the Test from hereon.
Dhoni’s absence was felt right from the time the toss took place. His replacement Virender Sehwag lost the toss and Daniel Vettori, like Dhoni at Hamilton, decided to bat first despite all the negative publicity regarding the fungal infection on the pitch days prior to the start of the game. For the initial bit, it looked like a hazardous decision as Zaheer and Ishant gave India a Hamilton-like start but this time they could not maintain the intensity over a longer period of time. Once the pitch became easier to bat on Ross Taylor and Jesse Ryder gained total control of the game.
