Napier, March 25: Team India stand on the threshold of history. It is a measure of the team’s wonderful recent performance that there are no doubts over whether they will actually cross the brink, which they hopefully will as soon as in the second Test beginning on Thursday, even if it is played on a green, seaming pitch.

Quite apart from the fact that the win came after 33 years in New Zealand and promises to fetch the first series win there after 40 years, it also came on top of a solid performance. Fast bowler Ishant Sharma, who has the ability to be one of the best in the world, began the work of destruction on Day One, completely justifying skipper Dhoni’s decision to put the Kiwis in.

India were then eased into a very strong position by Gambhir who does not wait for anyone to tell him to get on the offensive and Rahul Dravid who found his batting feet once again. The icing on the cake was the massive Test century by the Little Master who is on a real hot streak now with the bat.

So accomplished is he as a batsman it is difficult to believe Sachin could still keep going up in one’s estimation. But that is what happened after he said he was not wholly satisfied with his innings. Hidden in his words was his real greatness, this admission of an artist knowing the real extent of his struggle while everyone else sees only the completed canvas.

The spunky Zaheer Khan is a different kind of competitor these days, a relaxed senior who knows he can enjoy his cricket without losing too much of his intensity. He bowled so well as to create more opportunities for the quicker Ishant at the other end. He then went on to bat in that cheeky manner that exhibits how much he loves this run of success in this stint of his in Team India.

By the time the Indians were through with their first essay, New Zealand were so far behind that not even the tons of Ryder and Vettori of the first innings meant much. The one thing that had changed at the Seddon Park was the nature of the pitch. Much like the cemetery just outside the main gate of the ground, the pitch tends to go dead quickly.

Third seamers have to work extra hard on flatter wickets in the third innings, which is where Munaf Patel may have come in handy. His five-wicket haul in the match was not at all a bad return, particularly considering how he virtually gave up the ghost in the face of an assault on him in the ODI series.

The last ODI (the third in the series) he played seemed to wreck his confidence so much Patel simply stopped bowling in the middle of an over. To come back from that showed character, more so in a bowler who has been losing his sting a bit by way of pace; to his credit he has not dropped any of the basics because of that.

The bowling hero was undoubtedly Harbhajan Singh who showed what the presence of a quality spinner means. He chipped away with the kind of optimism that has been the hallmark of his career. His six wickets sent the Kiwis on a nosedive to their demise. They may not be a great side but they can certainly prove resilient.

Bhajji who broke Kiwi resistance may not have been fortunate when it came to the match award, which some fans believed should have gone to him. But then there is so much bias in favour of batsmen that usually the top scorer gets first chance from an adjudicator who is more likely a former batsman. However, in this Test, Sachin was the performer of the match, his disciplined effort far exceeding anyone else’s contribution.