Napier, March 28: Trailing New Zealand by an innings and 267 runs with nine wickets in hand, V.V.S. Laxman still thinks India can save the second Test being played here at the McLean Park.

Speaking after the third day’s play on Saturday, the Indian stylist said: "We are quite positive. We’ve done some amazing things in the past. We take a lot of confidence from that and are all looking forward to the next two days. I’m quite confident that we’ll do something special."

The 34-year-old said batting in pairs was important. "If you see their innings it was two big partnerships that took the game away from us. It was unfortunate we were not able to carry our partnerships. Rahul and Sachin had a good partnership then myself and Rahul had a good one, but we weren’t able to make it big," he said.

"I think New Zealand batted really well. If you see Ryder and Ross Taylor took the game away from us after we started well with the ball. We should have been looking to contain them to 400-450 because the wicket was really flat and our bowlers bowled well. The partnership between Ryder and Taylor took the game away from us on the first day," he added.

Talking about his game plan with Dravid at the crease, Laxman said: "Both of us were looking to bat the entire day. It was unfortunate that Rahul fell just when the second new ball was due. It was disappointing that we were not able to continue because we were confident the way both of us were batting that we could bat the whole day and set the team on course to a good total."

The key now, was to play one’s natural game, according to Laxman. "You can’t think the opposition has scored 600-odd runs. If you play too defensive the bowlers will get on top of you. So it’s important each one plays their own game. Everyone has got a different style of playing. Yes, it’s important to spend as much time in the middle," he said.

The Hyderabadi felt the wicket was still "a very good batting strip, and will remain the same."

He also defended the team practising in Auckland and reaching Napier only on match eve. "We had good practise even in Auckland, in fact the practice facilities in Auckland were much better than the facilities in Napier. I think we should not relate the bad days we had on the field with what we did in Hamilton," he said.

Laxman also defended teammate Yuvraj Singh, who fell for a duck after playing a loose shot. "He has done tremendously well in both forms of the game. He has won us a Test match against England and played really well in the second Test in Mohali and recently had a wonderful one-day series. He’s an amazing talent who is potentially a match-winner, one of the best talents India has produced," he said.