MUNI THE BOSS

India and New Zealand played out what, in the end, turned in to a bit of a bore draw in Ahmedabad, but the day was certainly permeated by moments of quality.

The visitors began the day in with a chance of victory, but a stonewalling partnership of 163 between VVS Laxman (91) and Harbhajan Singh (115) saw Mahendra Dhoni's men to safety.

Needing an early breakthrough to cement their position of authority, New Zealand toiled unsuccessfully during the morning session. With Laxman playing a calm, controlled game and Harbhajan his usual unorthodox self, the pair put on 99 in the morning session to wrestle the initiative from the visitors.

The Kiwis were not without their chances, though. Brendon McCullum put down a tough catch at silly point, Harbhajan twice saw edges drop short of slip and Laxman nearly presented Vettori with a return catch, with the ball reaching the spinner on the half-volley. Lady Luck simply refused to smile kindly on the men from New Zealand.

Credit must go to Laxman and Harbhajan though, as they stuck to their guns and refused to be bogged down by the largely spin-orientated attack. While he demonstrated his attacking prowess in the first innings, a few rash shots aside, Harbhajan served notice that he could be maturing into a genuine all-rounder.

Vettori made the much-needed breakthrough in rather fortuitous fashion, with umpire Steve Davis harshly adjudging Laxman out lbw despite a massive inside edge. The Englishman than proceeded to hand Zaheer Kahn his marching orders off the next delivery, with the presence of bat once again a seemingly unimportant factor in the lbw decision. To round of a comical over, Davis then called it to an end with only five balls bowled. But with India's lead surpassing 250, it was all academic.

Unperturbed by the happenings around him, Harbhajan went on to record not only his first Test century, but also his maiden first-class ton. It was an innings that combined the spinner's attacking instincts with some initial restraint not often shown.

Daniel Vettori was undoubtedly hamstrung by Hamish Bennett and Jesse Ryder's inability to bowl due to injury, with the unlikely duo of Ross Taylor and Brendon McCullum called on to turn their arms over. The latter, bowling for the first time in first-class cricket, continuing the long line of 'dibbly dobbly' Black Caps bowlers.

Indeed, it was Taylor who claimed the coverted scalp of Harbhajan, although he can hardly claim the ball warranted a wicket. The centurion's demise came in typically bizarre fashion, with the batsman top-edging a paddle-sweep off a full toss into his helmet and to BJ Watling at short fine-leg.

Taylor dismissed Shantha Sreesanth not long afterwards to end the Indian innings on 266 all out - 283 in the lead - and leave the visitors with a seemingly irrelevant half hour to negotiate. In fact, perhaps the only man to whom the period was important was the Black Caps' struggling opener, Tim McIntosh. On a pair, the opener had nothing to gain and everything to lose heading out to bat. As fate would have it, he was caught lbw by Zaheer for his second duck of the match.

Dhoni bowled the final over of the day to complete the comical line of bowlers that did duty on day five, but the smiles all around also illustrated the great spirit in which the game was played. Vettori even at one stage mocked Harbhajan by spreading his arms wide before his delivery in the same fashion that the Indian does. It brought laughter from both sides and the banter exchanged by the players provided a pleasant departure from the often overheated aggression on display.

Delivery of the Day
Zaheer may have only bowled four overs but he still managed to produce a delivery that surpassed those hurled down by New Zealand's lone seamer and hoard of spinners. The left-armer got one to nip back in at McIntosh from an off-stump line and the opener was unable to get any bat to it.

Shot of the Day
Laxman and Harbhajan provide a plethora of great shots, but the inside-out heave over long off that saw Harbhajan pick up six, and with it his ton, was one to savour.

Defining Moment of the Day
In the eighth over, Harbhajan defended a rising delivery from Vettori with the outside half of his bat. The ball dipped to the right of McCullum at silly point and the fielder could only manage to get his finger tips to it. While it was a tough chance, had McCullum held on the game may have had a very different complexion.