When 37 overs of play produce 31 play-and-misses, and 13 edges - many of them against batsmen of the calibre of Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar - then it suggests exceptional bowling or extremely favourable conditions. In this case, it was mostly the latter. New Zealand's bowlers only needed to keep the ball on a consistent line and length - which, to their credit, they did admirably - to ensure that wickets fell in a clutter.

Shane Bond was the feared one, but Daryl Tuffey did most of the early damage. He followed a simple mantra - keep the ball up to the bat, and around off stump. Thirty-eight out of his 55 deliveries - almost 70% - were on a good length, and a further 13 just short.

Fifty-one of them pitched on middle stump or further off side. His ability to move the ball either way - he sent down 25 away-going deliveries, 12 indippers and 18 straight balls - ensured that the batsmen were always guessing.

The in-control percentages achieved by the Indian batsmen reveals the extent to which the ball held sway over the bat. Rahul Dravid managed 69.6, Sachin Tendulkar 58 and VVS Laxman 65. Outdoing them all was Parthiv Patel, for whom the figure was an impressive 79.5%.

S Rajesh is sub editor of Wisden.com in India.

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