5 forgotten victories of India under MS Dhoni's captaincy

#4 1st Test vs New Zealand (Hamilton) – 2009

Tendulkar scored his 42nd Test hundred which provided the platform for India's 520

After losing the T20I series 0-2, India started to turned things around in their 2009 tour of New Zealand when the action shifted to the 50-overs format. Under Dhoni's captaincy, they won their first ever bilateral ODI series on New Zealand soil.

When the Test series, their confidence was high. It had been 33 years since India won a Test match in New Zealand and they arrived at Hamilton with the aim of putting an end to that drought. It was also Dhoni’s first Test as captain outside India.

On a grassy track, India opted to bowl first. With conditions aiding swing bowling, the new ball bowlers justified Dhoni’s decision to field first. Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma tore apart the top order to reduce the hosts to 60/6. But brilliant tons from Jessie Ryder and Daniel Vettori ensured the Kiwis reached a respectable 279.

India, in reply, were solid. On the back of Sachin Tendulkar’s superb 160 (his 42nd Test ton) as well as contributions from Gambhir (72) and Dravid (66), they replied with a mammoth 520.

Trailing by 241 in their second innings, New Zealand were off to a bad start as they lost McIntosh on the 3rd ball of the innings. There was some stability after the first wicket fell. But as soon as Guptill got out, wickets fell at regular intervals. Late resistance from Brendon McCullum delayed the inevitable as the Blackcaps were bundled out for 279. India chased the target of 39 without any fuss to go 1-0 up in the series. The visitors would hold on to the lead and accomplish a memorable Test series win in New Zealand.

Brief Scores: New Zealand 279 (Vettori 118, Ryder 102, Ishant 4-73, Munaf Patel 3/60) and 279 (McCullum 84, Flynn 67, Harbhajan 6-63) lost to India 520 (Tendulkar 160, Gambhir 72, Dravid 66, Zaheer 51*, Martin 3/98) and 39 for 0 (Gambhir 30*)