Yuvraj, Zaheer heroics steer India to first win of ODI series India at long last broke their winless sequence in New Zealand, securing a tight two-wicket win in the fifth ODI played at Wellington on Wednesday. Young guns Zaheer Khan, Yuvraj Singh and Virender Sehwag were the architects of the win that came after Stephen Fleming decided to put his team under pressure by taking first strike. With Zaheer claiming three wickets in his first two overs, the New Zealand skipper, however, was soon paying a heavy price for his adventurism. It was then left to Brendon McCullum (35 off 73 balls) and Andre Adams (35 off 27 balls) to guide the hosts to a respectable 168 all out. The loss of Sourav Ganguly off the first ball followed by the dismissals of Dinesh Mongia and Sachin Tendulkar, unfortunate to be given out lbw for no score, meant that the Indians were tottering in reply, despite a 40-ball 45 from Sehwag at the top of the order. And when Rahul Dravid and Mohammad Kaif also failed, it seemed that they were fighting yet another losing battle. Fortunately, Yuvraj Singh (54) displayed the necessary temperance and class while Zaheer (34*) rode his luck to ensure that their team finally broke the jinx.

Zaheer Khan: Everyone is really enjoying this win There was reward at last for one of the hardest workers on India's tour of New Zealand, left-arm medium-fast bowler Zaheer Khan, who will probably rate his batting in Wednesday's two-wicket win over the home side as one of the highlights of his career. Khan, who was named Man of the Match for a superb nine-ball spell in his first and second overs which removed Nathan Astle, Mathew Sinclair and Chris Harris, and for his unbeaten innings, had the honour of hitting the winning runs in India's first victory of the tour. He was 34 not out at the end, scored off 42 balls. His massive six off Daryl Tuffey in the 40th over was a vital blow which made certain that India would not falter at the last hurdle. Zaheer's 44-run eighth-wicket partnership with Yuvraj Singh was vital in ensuring this first victory would be attained with time to spare. Khan, who finished New Zealand's innings of 168 with three for 30, said when he went out to join Yuvraj his intention was just to stay with the latter because of the way Yuvraj was playing. "He played a brilliant knock. Then when Javagal [Srinath] came out he told me to keep going and pick up the singles and not to do anything silly. We are very happy, everyone is really enjoying this win. We have been trying really hard on the tour and we still feel we will come right. There are two one-dayers to go and we feel we will have a moral victory if we beat them in the next two games," Zaheer observed.

Injured Oram to miss rest of the series New Zealand all-rounder Jacob Oram, who fractured the little finger of his left hand at practice on Tuesday, has been ruled out of the remaining two matches in the National Bank One-Day International Series against India. The home team manager Jeff Crowe confirmed Oram had seen an orthopaedic surgeon on Tuesday night and that he would play no further part in the series. "The surgeon advised that Jake's finger needed at least a week's rest, so the aim now is to get him playing a State domestic match before the team departs for the World Cup. Jake's rehabilitation will be managed by the New Zealand Cricket medical team and he will continue with fitness work, including regular bowling, during the next couple of weeks," Crowe said.

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