India needs to bat like India @ Nagpur

A series win is no longer a guarantee. It is also clear that we need the pitch to come in play to get 20 New Zealand wickets. In fact on the flat pitches on offer, it was New Zealand that were able to get into positions from where a win was possible. It is thus logical to fear that any juice that is put into the wicket at Nagpur will benefit New Zealand more than India.

In my view then, New Zealand are now favorites to win the series. Then with 3 wins and a single loss to India since the beginning of this millennium, New Zealand will be to India what India is to Australia. Jesse Ryder will be the new VVS.

Zaheer's absence is a blow but we have won without him before so its not as devastating a blow. It is India's batsmen that have failed to put on enough runs on the board. The kind of runs whose magnitude literally causes the opposition to lose wickets simply by looking at the number. That is the Indian way to win matches. The middle order of Sachin, VVS, Raina and Dhoni have collectively not delivered. The kind of runs that Harbhajan can use to buy wickets. He is no longer a bowler to get us to a winning position but he is still good enough to deliver a win once the batsmen get us into a winning position. We saw that at the Eden Gardens, versus South Africa

There isn't much of an history at Nagpur that might serve as an indication. With one win and one loss in that order, we only know India is beatable at Nagpur. The batsmen need to stand up, put their heads down and put in the kind of runs that will be reported around the world as "obscene".

India can't risk a bowler friendly wicket. We need another flat one and ask our batters to forget that Harbhajan at number 8 can bail them out.