No excuses over Black Caps shocker

Daniel Vettori apologised for sounding like a 'broken record' but it is his batsmen who should really face the music after New Zealand's wretched cricket tour of Sri Lanka closed with another ignominious innings at R Premadasa Stadium.

India eliminated New Zealand from the one-day Tri-Series on Friday night (NZ time) by six wickets with almost 10 overs in reserve as they became the first team in 12 matches to win batting second at the venue.

The fact India were chasing a moderate 155 aided their cause as New Zealand's top order quickly undid Vettori's good work by winning what should have been a critical toss.

India only arrived in the country on Wednesday and promptly lost opener Gautam Gambhir to injury. Virender Sehwag was already missing and they had not played an ODI since July in the West Indies.

Instead, it was New Zealand that proved ripe for the picking.

It was arguably their worst batting performance of the tour and condemned them to stew on another heavy defeat before they fly to South Africa for the Champions Trophy on Tuesday.

A glum Vettori trotted out a familiar line after witnessing another excruciating performance from his strokemakers on a slow surface they should have been better equipped to handle after a month of acclimatising.

Ultimately, the captain top scored with a paltry 25; he also took two for 33 from 10 overs but a typically impressive all round contribution was never going to deny an Indian side still boasting the quality of Sachin Tendulkar and Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Tendulkar and Dravid added 60 for the second wicket while Dhoni and Suresh Raina coaxed India across the line at 156 for four in 40.3 overs with an unbroken stand of 72.

Both Indian partnerships dwarfed New Zealand's best effort -- Jacob Oram and Neil Broom's 35 for the sixth wicket.

New Zealand could point to the tougher conditions and the psychological impact of batting under lights when folding for 119 against Sri Lanka on Tuesday.

They had no excuses yesterday for slumping to four for two in a heart beat and then 19 for three with the sun on their backs.

Invigorated by two Twenty20 successes after predictably losing the tests to Sri Lanka 0-2, New Zealand had approached the Tri-Series with a degree of confidence.

However, Vettori and coach Andy Moles now face the prospect of New Zealand's ODI ranking of four deteriorating in South Africa after senior batsmen and rookies on their first tour of the sub-continent flopped in unison.

"I know I sound like a broken record but we just didn't put scores together, we didn't bat as well as we could have," Vettori said.

"We always put ourselves under pressure with the bat. We just couldn't put those partnerships together -- we couldn't get someone to get a 70 or 80 not out to put pressure on the other team."

Grant Elliott's 41 against Sri Lanka was New Zealand's highest individual innings of the tournament; Oram's 45-ball stay for 24 the longest innings managed against the Indians.

Sri Lanka, meanwhile, could point to Thilan Samaraweera's sublime 104 guiding them out of trouble at 38 for four, the brand of innings Vettori envied.

"The way he batted, and the way Raina and Dhoni did .... they were really smart about it. They did the simple things on a difficult wicket," he said.

Intelligence was not as evident among New Zealand's specialist batsmen. Jesse Ryder was twice leg before wicket for two-ball ducks to deliveries angling across him.

Brendon McCullum's 49 in the second Twenty20 proved an aberration as he averaged 8.50 in the ODIs. Ross Taylor and Martin Guptill were similarly ineffectual.

"When you play on wickets like these you want the experienced guys to stand up and count and unfortunately we just didn't have that," Vettori said.

Although the outcomes suggest otherwise, the tour had at least one upside -- the return of Shane Bond and Daryl Tuffey to an expanding pool of fast bowlers.

The former Indian Cricket League rebels made contrasting strides once they saw action in the limited overs formats.

Bond may have lost a yard of pace from his prime though he remains New Zealand's most thoughtful and threatening paceman.

Tuffey was also encouraging on his comeback tour.

"There are some positives," Vettori said, highlighting Bond "getting through with no injuries."

- NZPA