India slump to dismal loss against rampant New Zealand The moving ball writ and having writ moved on. On a pitch offering assistance to the quicks, the much-vaunted Indian batting line-up lasted just 96.5 overs in their two innings, allowing Stephen Fleming's men to seal an easy 10-wicket win in the first Test that ended on Saturday. New Zealand, who resumed their first innings on 201/7 on the third morning, went on to extend their lead to 86 before being eventually dismissed. Opener Mark Richardson with 89 was the the top-scorer. For India, Zaheer Khan, who claimed his maiden five-wicket haul in Tests, ended up as the main wicket-taker. When the visitors batted for the second time, they needed to put up a substantial score. But Virender Sehwag's dismissal off the last ball of the seventh over triggered a collapse that saw Sourav Ganguly's men fold up for 121. Only Sachin Tendulkar, who made 51, offered a modicum of resistance against a New Zealand attack led by Shane Bond (4-33 off 13.1 overs). With the home team openers knocking off the 36 runs that were needed without any fuss, New Zealand then went on to secure a 1-0 lead in the two-Test series.

Pitch offered more bounce and movement than expected - Wright India's expected familiarity with the Basin Reserve pitch because of their recent experiences in England was of no assistance as seen from their 10-wicket loss to New Zealand on Saturday. Team coach John Wright said the pitch for the first National Bank Series Test seamed and bounced more than the pitches the side struck in England. "I said before the match that the biggest Test for us was adjusting to the conditions, and clearly we didn't manage that," he said. Wright said he thought New Zealand's Mark Richardson had shown what sort of application was needed. Asked whether he thought the side had enough time to adapt to New Zealand conditions, Wright said: "This is one country where the more you get before a Test the better and that would probably have helped. But it is a fact of life. We've got the players. We have got some wonderful batsmen who, when they get in, can express themselves with their shots and they are good to watch. In their shot selection they have to be a lot more judicious on these wickets. We have to be a lot stronger in that area in the next Test," he added. Captain Sourav Ganguly, for his part, was clearly disappointed but he was in no mood to offer excuses. "We just did not bat well. We had come back and I was hopeful that we could score 250-300 runs to make a contest of the game.We will have to do our best in Hamilton to try and square the series. All we can do is hope we will bat much better in this game," he observed.

Hamilton pitch expected to be fast and bouncy India can expect no relief when they line up in Hamilton for the second and final Test against New Zealand on Thursday. In fact, if India don't improve their approach to batting, the news is nearly all bad. Westpac Park groundsman Doug Strachan said if the Test started tomorrow his pitch would be slightly slower than the Basin, but if he gets the fine weather to put in the finishing touches to the ground in the next two days, it will be faster and bouncier. Should India then be of a mind to put in some hard work in preparation for more of the same as occurred in Wellington, without the prospect of the same windy conditions, the practice wickets would provide ideal preparation. "The bounce on them is the highest I have ever had - they are going through the roof," Strachan said, adding, "Hopefully that will be reflected on the main pitch."

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