WELLINGTON — India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni was ruing one dropped catch that cost it a potential series-leveling victory over New Zealand in the second Test that ended in a draw Tuesday. The host saved the match courtesy of Brendon McCullum's triple century - the first by a New Zealander in Test cricket - and his partnerships with BJ Watling and Jimmy Neesham. Both Watling and Neesham scored centuries as New Zealand recovered from 94 for five on the third day to declare on a record total of 680 for eight before lunch Tuesday, setting India an impossible victory target of 435 in 67 overs. It could have been a different story had Virat Kohli held a chance off McCullum when the New Zealand captain was on nine. He then went on to share a world-record sixth wicket 352-run partnership with Watling to bat his side to safety by stumps on the fourth day. “That was one of the partnerships that we had to break to get into the lower order batsmen,” Dhoni said of the McCullum-Watling partnership. “From behind the stumps, you try to figure out how to get him out. You'll try everything from catching slips to catching covers to deep square leg to deep point. Bowling onto the pads and bowling outside off. “Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't work. “I think overall we'll accept that we were not able to get two batsmen out and they batted really well. “We give credit to them but at the same time what really needs to be appreciated is the will and the way our fast bowlers tried to get the opposition out on a very flat wicket.” India's pace trio of Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami and Zaheer Khan combined for 139 of India's 210 overs in New Zealand's second innings. Left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja bowled 52 overs and such was Dhoni's desire to dismiss Watling and McCullum he resorted to bowling an over himself while part-timers Rohit Sharma, Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan also bowled a few overs. Dhoni also looked enviously at the make-up of New Zealand's side with two genuine all-rounders in Corey Anderson and Neesham, who took the pressure off their own pace trio of Trent Boult, Tim Southee and Neil Wagner. “It's good to have cricketers who can bat and bowl, especially in Test matches.” India captain slammed India's latest away series defeat triggered calls Tuesday for a change in leadership and a warning that financial muscle does not translate to on-field success. India has now lost 10 of its last 12 Tests abroad — the other two were drawn — a record that included two successive 4-0 whitewashes in England and Australia. Former Test captain Bishan Bedi blamed the cash-rich Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), which has teamed up with England and Australia to ensure that the game's three most powerful countries have greater control over its governance and generate more money. “Money can buy many a cricketer or votes, but money can't buy a team performance,” the outspoken Bedi said on Twitter. Bedi also said it was time to review the performance of Dhoni and coach Duncan Fletcher, who took over from South African Gary Kirsten after India's World Cup triumph in 2011. — Agencies
Scorecard
New Zealand (1st innings) 192 India (1st innings) 438 New Zealand (2nd innings) Fulton lbw Khan 01 Rutherford c Dhoni b Khan 35 Williamson c Dhoni b Khan 07 Latham c Dhoni b Shami 29 B. McCullum c Dhoni b Khan 302 Anderson c & b Jadeja 02 Watling lbw Shami 124 Neesham not out 137 Southee c Pujara b Khan 11 Wagner not out 02 Extras (b9, lb12, w2, nb7) 30 Total (for 8 decl; 210 overs) 680 Falls: 1-1 (Fulton), 2-27 (Williamson), 3-52 (Rutherford), 4-87 (Latham), 5-94 (Anderson), 6-446 (Watling), 7-625 (McCullum), 8-639 (Southee). To bat: T. Boult Bowling: I. Sharma 45-4-164-0 (6nb), Khan 51-13-170-5 (2w), Shami 43-6-149-2, Jadeja 52-11-115-1, R. Sharma 11-0-40-0, Kohli 6-1-13-0 (1nb), Dhoni 1-0-5-0, Dhawan 1-0-3-0. India (2nd innings) Vijay c Anderson b Southee 07 Dhawan lbw Boult 02 Pujara c Watling b Southee 17 Kohli not out 105 R. Sharma not out 31 Extras: (w2, nb2) 04 Total (for 3; 52 overs) 166 Falls: 1-10 (Dhawan), 2-10 (Vijay), 3-54 (Pujara). Bowling: Boult 16-5-47-1 (1nb), Southee 16-3-50-2, Wagner 11-3-38-0, Neesham 5-0-25-0 (1nb, 2w), Anderson 4-1-6-0.
