Vettori dreaming of a series win on the eve of Nagpur Test
After an impressive win in the first two Test matches of the series Daniel Vettori the captain of New Zealand is in search of an elusive dream, the dream of toppling http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750 in a Test series at home.
The first two Tests of the three match series ended in draws with the Black Caps holding the sway in the first Test, before a career best by batsman Brendon McCullum at http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Hyderabad-c792 in the second match.
The first Test performance gave a much needed boost to the visitors, who started believing that they had the ammunition to go past the formidable Indians, ranked the number one team in the World.
The young New Zealanders have performed brilliantly in the first two Test matches, with batsman Kane Willamson leading the way with his defiant approach at number six, The right hander hit a century on debut in the first match at Ahmedabad and followed that
up with a gritty half century in the second innings.
Each time he has been ably supported by Jesse Ryder, who has made India his favourite opposition, with his resolute batting in the middle-order.
Vettori though is not relying on these two alone as he has a team that is full of spirit and tenacity.
"This one is the most important for us. I think the way our team will be viewed will be more on this Test rather than the previous two. We can't be satisfied. The moment you are satisfied in world cricket, it is the start of your downfall. We can never put
ourselves in that position because we aren't good enough yet and we are looking to improve all the time. We are happy with what we have done but we are definitely not satisfied. Our expectations are high even though we are the eighth-ranked team in the world".
The turnaround in New Zealand’s fortunes has been quite phenomenal as not long ago they were beaten 4-0 in an ODI series in Bangladesh and faced the wrath of an incensed media back home.
"There was a little bit of hard talk. I think a lot of players know themselves you don't need to say too much because people understand expectations on them and people have their own personal expectations. Unfortunately, we weren't at our best in Bangladesh
and Bangladesh played very well. You have to keep improving, you have to keep adapting and you are always playing good teams. So there is nowhere to hide.
We knew India are a huge challenge here and our talks were mainly about coming here to try and win a series. As soon as the talk veers to draws and gutsy losses, then that's not a good sign for the team. The team picked itself up pretty
quickly.
One thing that http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Bangladesh-c747, there fast bowlers and spinner have made regular inroads in the Indian line-up and they would be hoping to provide the finishing
touch and record a win at Nagpur.
No team from their has won a Test series in India and the resilience of Vettori and his men has given them a realistic chance of upsetting the apple cart and embarrass the Indians, who were riding high after whitewashing the Australians at home last month.
The last Test is going to be a tough challenge for Mahindra Singh Dhoni and his men as they seek a win against an opponent that has not given them an inch yet in the series.
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