NAGPUR: India rode on some fine performances by their under-fire bowlers to restrict New Zealand to 148-7 and seize early control of the series-deciding third and final Test Saturday. Indian new-ball bowlers Shanthakumaran Sreesanth (2-20) and Ishant Sharma (2-32) provided early breakthroughs before the spinners got in on the act on a lively wicket at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur. Brendon McCullum, who came in to bat at No. 8 after injuring his back on the morning of the match, was unbeaten on 34 when stumps were drawn on the opening day. Tim Southee (seven) was the other not out batsman. New Zealand owed much to left-handed batsman Jesse Ryder who defied a calf injury to top-score with a fine 59 off 113 balls. The gallant show by McCullum and Ryder seemed to be the only high point for the visitors, seeking to win a first-ever Test series in India after the first two matches ended in draws. India's bowling attack, depleted in the absence of injured pace spearhead Zaheer Khan, put in an inspired performance after taking much criticism for their lackluster show in Ahmedabad and Hyderabad. New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori's decision to bat first backfired miserably with half of the side back in the pavilion by the 17th over after a delayed start due to a wet outfield. Martin Guptill, opening the innings in place of McCullum, nicked Sreesanth behind the stumps in the seventh over of the innings to give India its first breakthrough. Sreesanth picked his second wicket in his next over, claiming Tim McIntosh (four) with a ball that sneaked between the bat and pad to uproot the off-stump. Sharma, playing his first match of the series, got the big wicket of Ross Taylor when he had him trapped plumb in front of the wicket for a 24-ball 20, including three fours. Left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha reduced the visitors to 43-4 after Kane Williamson (zero) offered a simple catch to Virender Sehwag at short cover. Sharma struck again in his second spell to remove Vettori, who played onto his stumps while trying to play a pull shot. Gareth Hopkins (seven) failed to break his poor batting slump, edging Ojha to the slips where Suresh Raina took a fine catch. The wicketkeeper-batsman has just 36 runs from four innings in the series. Raina pulled off another smart catch to dismiss Ryder. He struck five fours during his three-hour innings. – Agence France-PresseScoreboard New Zealand (1st innings): T. McIntosh b Sreesanth 04 M. Guptill c Dhoni b Sreesanth 06 R. Taylor lbw b Sharma 20 J. Ryder c Raina b Harbhajan 59 K. Williamson c Sehwag b Ojha 00 D. Vettori b Sharma 03 G. Hopkins c Raina b Ojha 07 B. McCullum not out 34 T. Southee not out 07 Extras: (b1, lb4, nb3) 08 Total (7 wkts; 56 overs) 148 Falls: 1-11 (Guptill), 2-16 (McIntosh), 3-42 (Taylor), 4-43 (Williamson), 5-51 (Vettori), 6-82 (Hopkins), 7-124 (Ryder). Bowling: Sreesanth 9-4-20-2 (nb1), Sharma 13-2-32-2 (nb2), Ojha 19-2-49-2, Harbhajan 15-1-42
