History books usually lack the action-paced,page-turning thrill of a best-selling paperback. It was proved at the Basin Reserve on Monday that watching history unfold can stimulate a few yawns as well. With Indias series win in New Zealand for four decades inevitable 1-0 or 2-0 it was a day spent watching paint dry. The extra coats that MS Dhoni insisted on putting by batting for an hour this morning,to extend the lead to 616 meant the wet sign was still on when play was stopped early due to bad light. Considering New Zealands no-win situation,India will end this tour on a high come rain,hail,or even snow. Some critics might question Indian skipper MS Dhonis delayed declaration,but if any touring team to New Zealand were given the option of taking six wickets on the final day for a series win with the hosts trailing by 450 runs,they wouldve grabbed it. Being overcautious on the road to less-chartered territory might seem too defensive,but Dhoni was clearly more bothered about the end result than this perception. His batting approach in his early days in international cricket branded him an aggressive cricketer. That first impression didnt seem too far off the mark with the passage of time,and his highly successful instinctive moves for example,bowling Joginder Sharma in the last over on his first assignment as India captain during the World T20 added to the myth. But gradually,especially on this tour,it is surfacing that while there might be flashes of aggression in Dhonis captaincy,false bravado or high-risk decisions arent his normal style. On Monday morning,when Dhoni was certain that there was no chance of a 1-1 series result,he didnt give New Zealand the chance to bat. With rain predicted on the final day,he knew he might have to settle for a 1-0 win,but that didnt make him over-eager for a 2-0 victory in four days. In the 56 overs that India bowled,New Zealand got only 167 runs on a dead track that made for two action-deprived sessions. The conditions made life tough for the bowlers and Zaheer Khans 15 overs would have easily yielded more than two wickets had he got any help from the track. Harbhajan,too,got turn but the slowness of the pitch made it easy for the Kiwi batsmen to read him. Ishant Sharma and Munaf Patel were particularly ineffective,failing to adjust to the windy conditions regardless of which end they bowled from. With nothing working,Dhoni opted for his famous 8-1 field in the final session. Munaf bowled way outside the off-stump,inciting Ross Taylor and James Franklin to drive the ball through the field,but the batsmen didnt fall for the trap because runs were no longer important. After the days play,an upbeat Yuvraj Singh didnt seem to have too many regrets about not finishing the Test with a day to spare. You always think about bowling well and getting 10 wickets in a day. Rain is always predicted here. Sometimes it happens,sometimes it doesnt. Fingers crossed, he said. With history already written,whether it rains or not matters only so much to Team India.
