India's press have acknowledged that not all the fault was with their cricketers during their 2-0 series loss to New Zealand but they still lament the fact that India struggles to win away from home.

A sampling of opinion is listed below:

The Hindu:

"There are hopes, there are dreams ... and then they die. Life's like that and cricket's like that.

"It was a 26-year-old quest. Could the Indians finally win a Test in New Zealand after several futile attempts?

"In a low scoring game that twisted and turned like a slippery snake, they certainly were in with a chance on the fourth day, with the Kiwis still requiring 136, even if they had all the wickets in hand.

"But, by now, the pitch, having become drier under the sun, had settled down well, and batting was less of a challenge. The odds were in favour of New Zealand.

"And when Robbie Hart turned Ashish Nehra, who otherwise bowled with heart to grab three wickets, for a single to clinch the second National Bank Test for New Zealand by four wickets, it meant the Indians would have to wait much longer."

Kris Srikkanth in The Hindu:

"New Zealand managed to reach the target in Hamilton and win the series 2-0, but let's not blame our bowlers, who have been outstanding in this series. It was the bowlers who fought back magnificently after India was dismissed for 99 in the first innings, and had we batted better in the second innings, the series could have been squared. There was little application from our batsmen, and they were hardly prepared to wait at the crease ...

"There is something wrong somewhere in our cricket structure, and we have to root out the cause. The time has come for us to take some brave moves. We have to start by preparing pitches with pace and bounce at home, and have domestic cricket played on such surfaces. Only then would we be able to produce batsmen who can score on all conditions."

The Times of India:

"In the end, the four-wicket win by New Zealand over India at Hamilton on day four would look comprehensive, but the second Test was a study in moves and counter moves with Dame Fortune sometimes favouring the tourists and sometimes the hosts.

"Chasing 160 to win, New Zealand were made to stretch as India took the game down to the wire by claiming six wickets.

"This time round it was Ashish Nehra who stood up to be counted by taking the three vital wickets of [Mark] Richardson, [Stephen] Fleming and [Craig] McMillan. With the win at Hamilton, New Zealand have swept the two-Test series 2-0 after they beat India in the first Test at Wellington by 10 wickets.

"[Sourav] Ganguly's dream of winning a series overseas after a gap of 16 years has suffered a setback once again. To add insult to injury, this is the first time that New Zealand has beaten India in two consecutive Tests.

"The most worrying factor for the Indians has been the failure of their famed batting lineup that has struggled to negotiate rising deliveries and handle lateral movement."

The Hindustan Times:

"Another series defeat that too, 2-0 against New Zealand will weigh heavily on the Indian team and will also re-emphasise the fact that the team of many so-called great cricketers cannot win outside their country. Like the mythical albatross this voodoo hangs around India's neck.

"Most cricket teams, apart from Australia find it difficult to win outside their country and the recent bad record of Pakistan which could not even perform up to mark in Sharjah is another example. The tour of West Indies and now New Zealand was the best chance to break the voodoo and stamp some sort of authority in the world of Test cricket. There too India failed.

"If at all any team was fit to pull it off it was Sourav Ganguly's. The team had character, the team had stars, the team had some new players who give everything to the team and a captain who has rallied his men well. Yet the team fared disastrously in the under-prepared pitches. It happened in the home of John Wright who has done a lot to change the temperament and character of the team. To take a team to his home country and beat the hosts could have been a great professional achievement for him, though not emotionally easy. Wright must be the saddest of them all."

Sourav Ganguly in the Hindustan Times:

"For the first time since 1934, a Test match has been completed with 36 wickets falling and not one fifty being scored. This could be one of the reasons why spectators don't turn up to watch Test cricket in New Zealand, and if such pitches are prepared in the future, not many will turn up to buy tickets for the game.

"In total, five days were played in a two-Test series and none but the groundsmen deserved the silverware of the series. The comments and the attitude around the venues just gave the impression that more attention was paid to prove that Indian batting was good enough only on sub-continent pitches - but the track record reveals some other stories.

"Surprisingly, people who are supposed to have been brought up on these pitches and have played on them throughout their lives, could not put bat to ball. Of course, Mark Richardson was an exception - he looked an organised player."

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