India succumb to the moving ball yet again The one-day series was thought to favour the Indians more, given their recent formidable record, but the Eden Park pitch defied all expectations. On a track even more spiteful than the previous two Test surfaces, India collapsed to 108 all out, largely due to a haul of five for 26 by Jacob Oram. Shiv Sunder Das - originally not even on the fringes of one-day selection! - top-scored with 30, and Rahul Dravid looked settled in his 20, but he ran out of partners rapidly. India lasted only 32.5 overs, and New Zealand took five overs more to crawl to their target. Javagal Srinath, back in the side, was reluctant to let the match slip without a fight, and he registered four wickets for 23 runs in 10 overs in the process. Along with Ashish Nehra - two for just 16 in 10 overs - Srinath led the Indian fight, and it was left to Oram again to make an unbeaten 27 and see New Zealand home by a slender three-wicket margin.

Pitches not helping cricket in the public eye - Ganguly Pitches like that prepared for the first ODI did nothing good for cricket. That was Indian captain Sourav Ganguly on a game that saw New Zealand take 37.4 overs to score the 109 runs required to claim the first win of the seven-game one-day series. For the Indians, it was just a continuation of the frustrating surfaces that have been dished up to them in New Zealand on the tour. Ganguly did admit, like Stephen Fleming before him, that the pitch looked as if it would play a lot better than it did. "This sort of thing doesn't help anybody. People come to watch cricket," he said. The pitch, played on one of Eden Park's portable pitches proved to be two-paced, to have variable bounce and shot-making was not easy. India did have a chance in the game and Jacob Oram, who was 27 not out at the end, had gone very close to getting out leg before wicket to Anil Kumble but India just couldn't pull off the win. "Due credit to him [Oram] he hung in well in both innings, in Hamilton and here. But a few decisions this way or that way could have changed the game," said Ganguly. Javagal Srinath's presence proved beneficial for the side, and the veteran pacer proven again that he was a class act by taking four wickets for 23 runs in his 10 overs. Ganguly said that it wasn't the confidence of just his players that was down and that the New Zealanders were also struggling - this despite the fact that they had virtually grown up in these conditions. The series would be won by the side that responded best to the task of batting solidly in the remaining games, added Ganguly.

Vettori feels he's playing his part at last It's taken 405.2 overs for left-arm spinner Daniel Vettori to get a bowl for New Zealand in the series against India, but he didn't waste his chance, picking up a wicket after only four balls. Vettori was unused during New Zealand's two Test match victories over India, so quickly did the tourists succumb to New Zealand's seam attack. The way India's batting collapsed today at Eden Park, he wondered if he was going to go another match without having to bowl. "I was happy to get one, I was a little bit scared that I wasn't going to get one at one stage. I've got to thank Bondy [Shane Bond] as he got whacked in one over, so it gave me a chance to come in," said Vettori. He did think he would bowl his full 10 overs when he arrived at the ground today but was hopeful that previous good fortune he has enjoyed in Napier will be repeated in the next game of the series.

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