Napier, March 25: Beaten quite comfortably in the first Test, New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori is beginning to get demoralised. With two more matches to go in the Test series, the Indians almost have the series in their bag going by the body language of their opponents.

"The longevity of the Tests is what’s catching us out. We do things well for maybe a session or two, but we are not doing it well enough for four or five, and that’s what India did in the last Test," Vettori said on match eve.

He was clear about the intended solution. "We need our batsmen to bat 120 overs, we need our bowlers to be consistent for longer, and we need to lift ourselves in the field. It’s every part of the game, and if we don’t do that we will get the same result as we did in Hamilton," he said.

However, Vettori’s only hope is the hard work being put in by his teammates. "A lot of guys have worked pretty hard. We have seen that in the last three days in the nets session, we will see the results over the next five days," he said.

In the same breath, the Kiwi skipper admitted the Indians were on a roll. "They played so well in the first Test. Pretty much everything they did, they did really well — they played to a plan, and seemed to perform at every moment. Every element that we weren’t good in, they were really great. They seem like a team that works pretty well with momentum, and they just keep rolling with it," he said.

Vettori expected the New Zealand top order to contribute more. "The onus is on the top six to do the job. If they do the job then Brendon (McCullum) and I can complement that. Hopefully we can get mix and match sometimes, but the onus is always on top six to score the runs," he said.

Vettori said playing off-spinner Harbhajan Singh was the key. "The key to Harbhajan’s success was how consistent he was in that second innings. He didn’t really get it to turn a lot, he just put it in the right spot, got a couple to bounce. Most of the guys are picking him, and it’s a matter of playing him from there.

"I think it’s the most difficult part of playing when a guy puts consistently in the right spot with variations. I think the right-handers played him relatively well, and are getting used to that over-the-wicket line. Not a lot of off-spinners do that often, so lot of practice, lot of thought has got into it," he said. On the bowling front, he was looking to add an extra spinner in Jeetan Patel. "Traditionally in New Zealand there hasn’t been room for two spinners but I think it’s more than likely there is a chance for him (Jeetan) to play in this game. He got five wickets last time he played here, so we are hoping for a repeat of that."

The home captain hoped for some luck as well. "Sometimes you need that little break, and you get back into it. Mentally, the workload of being a captain, and I suppose being an allrounder as well, is always a tough thing. But physically I feel good and am enjoying the responsibility," he said.