A victory is a victory. Let us not forget that as we savour India's win over New Zealand at Kanpur's Green Park on Monday. It must be remembered that it was achieved with more than a day to spare and by the emphatic margin of eight wickets. Yes, certainly it cannot be compared with the Indian victories at Port of Spain in 1976 or at Melbourne in 1981 - arguably two of the greatest triumphs associated with Indian Test cricket. But then there have been lop sided victories over weak opponents like Sri Lanka or New Zealand or second string English and Australian sides. To that extent, Kanpur represents an improvement in that it was achieved against a side which had a good record of late - an entry into the World Cup semifinal, a series win in England. This New Zealand side is not a weak or brittle side. Yes, it may be no more than an average team for there are weaknesses in the batting and bowling. And these flaws became more pronounced on our turning tracks.

Too much however should not be made about the pitch. Admittedly, it was a difficult wicket for batting but it was not a vicious turner. Even New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming downplayed the issue of the pitch and the role it played in the defeat. He admitted the team should have batted better but the batsmen were found wanting in technique. After all two Indian batsmen got near centuries so it could not have been an unplayable wicket.

When listed, the New Zealand batting extends to No 9. But on Indian wickets, this strength remains on paper. Few have the skill to successfully negotiate the turning and lifting ball. Where the turn is slow, like it was at Mohali, the New Zealand batsmen have the time to play their shots and keep out the really good deliveries by defensive tactics. By falling prey at Green Park, the tradition of New Zealand failing against spin in India has been maintained. On their first tour in 1955-56, even such reputed batsmen like John Reid and Bert Sutcliffe found the assorted tricks of Subash Gupte difficult to fathom. The great Indian leg spinner finished with 34 wickets in the five Tests. In 1965, `new boy' Venkatraghavan emerged as the wrecker-in-chief taking 21 wickets in the four Tests, including a bag of 12 for 152 in the final Test at New Delhi, which India won to clinch the series. In 1969-70, Bedi and Prasanna, then at their peak, made life difficult for the New Zealand batsmen, even though they had in their midst excellent players of spin bowling like Graham Dowling, Bevan Congdon, Glenn Turner and Mark Burgess. Seven years later, it was the trio of Bedi, Chandrasekhar and Venkatraghavan who wove patterns around the visiting batsmen. In 1988-89, Narendra Hirwani and Arshad Ayub shared 41 wickets between them in the three Tests to shape India's victory. And the last time out in 1995-96, the New Zealand batsmen found it difficult to handle Hirwani and Kumble. And with Kumble being a deadlier bowler now, it was always on the cards that the visiting batsmen would find him almost unplayable particularly on a pitch helpful to him.

Like the batting, the New Zealand bowling too has weaknesses. It depends too much on Cairns, Nash and Vettori and to be candid, good bowlers as they undoubtedly are, on Indian wickets, their fangs are cut. Stronger bowling sides have come to grief against Indian batsmen here and it would be too much to expect the New Zealanders to pull off another rabbit out of the hat - something they did while bowling out India for 83 at Mohali. In the second innings, the Indian batsmen put the bowling into proper perspective. About the only aspect in which the New Zealanders score over the Indians is in the field. But a side cannot win by fielding alone when the batting and bowling is so inferior to the opponents.

If there is one quality the visitors possess it is gallantry. They are prepared to fight it out even if they are aware that the opposition is stronger, that the wicket and weather conditions are loaded against them and that there are inherent weaknesses in their side. The fighting qualities were seen in abundant measure at Mohali and even in the reverse at Kanpur, they did not go down without a fight - restricting the Indian first innings total, taking two early wickets in the second innings. In a way this has enhanced the achievement of the triumph at Kanpur, only the country's fourth victory in 18 matches (against three losses) at this venue.

From India's point of view, the outstanding feat was Kumble's. The ace Indian spinner certainly is at the peak of his powers. India's main strike bowler of the 90s now has a bag of 253 wickets in 55 Tests and the average has slipped to below 27. These are excellent figures by any standards. Of course how many of these wickets have been taken outside India is a moot point. But the fact remains that on our designer wickets at home, Kumble will continue to be a match winner. Accuracy has always been his forte but now his top spinners and googlies are very difficult to negotiate. If only he could perform even half as well in Australia, India could fancy their chances in the series.

Harbhajan Singh exceeded expectations making up for Joshi's lack of form. Admittedly the batting was a bit of a disappointment, especially after the excellent start given by the first three batsmen. Apart from Kumble, a notable achievement was registered by Devang Gandhi and Sadagoppan Ramesh who became probably the first Indian opening pair to notch up two successive century partnerships. The famed middle order for once failed but one is sure this is only a minor aberration. And finally, the match could mark a turning point in Tendulkar's captaincy.