History would be created by India if they win the Third Test at the Basin Reserve in Wellington. They have won Test series in England, West Indies, and Pakistan in the last decade and now they have the chance to add New Zealand to that list. After their great escape at Napier they will be careful of similar mistakes at the Basin. They were outplayed for the first three days in the previous Test but like a true champion they transform the almost a lost match into a draw.
Rahul Dravid has looked like the 'Wall' as he scored 3 fifties in 4 innings on this tour. With Yuvraj too returning to form with an aggressive fifty in the last innings, India at least have their batting sorted out. The main concern of the Indian think tank would be the lack of penetration of Harbhajan Singh on flat tracks. While Munaf Patel bowled well without much luck or reward.
The Kiwis put in a much improved performance at Napier, but their inability to close out the match will concern Vettori and company. Jesse Ryder proved he is the new exciting player by scoring a double hundred. Still the top order of the Kiwis looks quite feeble with Tim McIntosh unsure of where his next run will come from.
James Franklin failed to grab his opportunity at Napier.
Team news
Dhoni ran around and played some football on Thursday, but still a final call about him will be taken only on the day of the match. If he doesn't play then luckily Dinesh Karthik will get another chance. Munaf Patel has impressed so far so he should keep his place ahead of Balaji.
NZ are thinking over the prospect of bringing in Tim Southee for Jeetan Patel, but Patel was the one who looked like taking wickets in Napier, so it might be a tossup between Southee and James Franklin for the final spot in the team.
Pitch conditions
The Basin Reserve has been one of New Zealand's favorite hunting grounds, the chilly wind conditions coupled with a seaming track has put the visitors into trouble, but this time the pitch looks surprisingly dry and brownish. It is expected that the pitch may break up as the match progresses which will play into India's hands. Fine weather is predicted for tomorrow while there might be isolated showers on the 4th and 5th days of the match.
Trivia
9- Wickets needed by Daniel Vettori to complete the double of 300 wickets and 3000 Test runs
99 - The number of victories India have in Test matches so far out of the 429 they have played
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