The cricket stadium at Christchurch, India’s venue for their third ODI against New Zealand, can be called as anything but that. For starters, it would send the graves of most mathematicians shuddering if one called it circular or for that matter any other such symmetric shape. Its top view probably resembles a random sketch of drawing by someone who has been handed out some crayons for the first ever time, and this makes it funnier to view, and more difficult to set fields to.
The Indian batsmen took full toll of this, and the fact that the pitch was as flat as a national highway did not make it easy for the Kiwi bowlers. Ian Butler’s injury – and subsequent inability to bowl – after he had completed only half his spell and a tactical master-move by M.S. Dhoni in taking the batting Powerplay very early all contributed to the end total, but it was Sachin Tendulkar’s amazing knock that set the tone for the target of 393! 
Tendulkar’s was master-piece carved out by a sculptor. He bided his time, began as a second fiddle to Virender Sehwag as he usually does, allowed Yuvraj Singh to maul the Kiwi bowlers to all parts of the ground and then, when the New Zealand bowlers were a little low on morale, launched into an assault that would have made an Israeli sharpshooter proud. The fence which already was rather woefully short, felt like a thirty-yard circle, and the chanceless batting had everyone awestruck.
Tendulkar would have played to all the parts of the ground. In fact, given the high percentage of boundaries in the entire match, it is difficult to imagine any portion of the ‘square’ which wouldn’t have had a four or a six coming its way. Yet, the one shot that stands out in memory for me, was the sweep-six off a quick bowler over the fine-leg; no doubt a result helped by the shorter boundaries, but a stroke so full of dexterity and cheek that it deserved the six runs associated with it.
The Indian bowling was a different story altogether. The humongous target ensured that Jesse Ryder and Brendon McCullum had no option but to go after the Indian attack. What was surprising though is the maturity with the openers batted. Rarely was a shot played in the anger that gave an impression that it was almost 400 that they were chasing; and yet, the scorecard motored along at the pace it had been instructed to at the start of the inning.
If the Indians thought that the introduction of spinners would stall this run-glut, they were sadly mistaken. Both Yuvraj and Harbhajan Singh were effortlessly dispatched away; one six by Ryder been just a short-arm jab over mid-wicket. When Ryder was batting, it looked as if there were no glitches in his techniques or power, except his running between the wickets. And it was this very anomaly that set the cat amongst the pigeons as McCullum was left stranded by his partner.
The rest was history, in fact, after the loss of some really quick wickets, should have been history, but for a spell of bowling in the end that would have belied the expectations of any international captain. Munaf Patel was the chief culprit here, in all probabilities thinking that it was a circus and not a cricket match to be won, as he kept doling out freebies and full-tosses to the batsmen.
A lamb put to slaughter would have probably put up more fight than Patel, till his agony was ended by…himself. Two waist-high full-tosses – declared no-balls by the umpire – meant that he couldn’t bowl for the rest of the inning, a move that probably would have favoured the Indians more than the Kiwis!
Indeed it did and the rest of the wickets fell without much ado to enable India wrap up the match by 58 runs.
With this, India had taken a 2-0 lead in the series with two more matches to play. It would be fair to say that Daniel Vettori was definitely missed by the hosts, as his impeccable lines and lengths usually stifle the run scoring in the middle overs; something that was conspicuous by its absence in this match. Butler may not be fit enough for the next match too, and that, could just be a final nail in the Kiwi coffin.