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Azhar blasts team for lack of commitment

Indian skipper Mohammed Azharuddin blasted his teammates for a lack of commitment after New Zealand took a 1-0 series lead with a four-wicket win in the second Test at Basin Reserve in Wellington today.

Set 213 to win, Craig McMillan (74 not out) and Chris Cairns (61) lifted the hosts from a dangerous 74 for five with a 137-run partnership which ended just before the victory was wrapped up.

"The effort on the field was not good enough,'' an angry Azharuddin said. "Our problem area is the fielding and unless that changes we are not going to win Test matches. I don't know when we will wake up and realise that there is a problem with our fielding.''

When asked what could be done to rectify the problem, Azharuddin said, "If I knew, I wouldn't be sitting and complaining."

India dropped seven catches in the two New Zealand innings.

NZ skipper Stephen Fleming agreed the home side's superior catching tilted the balance in its favour.

"When you are defending you can't afford to give away easy runs and drop catches. And that's exactly what we did,'' Azharuddin said. "We were in a good position at stumps on the fourth day. But we didn't bowl well at all today.''

India's last series win outside the subcontinent was a 2-0 win over England in 1986 and since beating Sri Lanka by 235 runs in Colombo in July 1993, India has failed to win a Test abroad in 18 attempts.

Fleming described the Test as the "most mentally demanding'' in his 38-match career and said the post-lunch session on the fourth day was the "most pivotal'' in his side's push for a result.

"Both teams had equal chances in the Test and I think at the end we won more sessions than them,'' Fleming said.

Beating a top side like India was a sweet feeling, he said. "In the past we have beaten Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe at home. It is good to win a Test against a team like India,'' he added. He registered his sixth win in 14 Tests as captain.

UNI