The only century maker of the series after his innings in Napier in the second match, he scored his ninth half-century off 80 balls at Eden Park. At the 30-over mark, India were 124 for one wicket. Sehwag was 64 not out off 98 balls while Rahul Dravid was 17 not out.

He started in blistering fashion with captain Sourav Ganguly as they added 70 runs in a fraction over 14 overs before Ganguly was dismissed caught behind for 23 scored off 44 balls.

With Rahul Dravid joining him, the pace slowed, as New Zealand took off their faster bowlers and Scott Styris and Kyle Mills bowled a tidier line.

Sehwag did give a hard chance to point fieldsman Chris Harris but he wasn't able to haul the ball in when leaping high for it. Dravid was on 36 at the time.

They brought up the 100 in the 26th over, a ball or two after Sehwag scored his 50.

Dravid was just starting to get into his stride around the 30-over mark and while the run rate had slowed a little, India were still in the far more competitive position. Dravid played one well executed from Mills' bowling for four runs.

Stephen Fleming brought back Tuffey and Sehwag celebrated by hitting him for four through the covers, then off the next ball he chased a wider ball and edged it at face height to Fleming but the ball rebounded from his hands and flew behind him and he was unable to grasp the chance. Sehwag was on 63.

Mills had bowled conservatively to concede 25 runs from his eight overs while Scott Styris' six overs had cost 17 runs.

Needing 200 to win in 49 overs, after being docked one over due to their slow over-rate, Indian got off to a flyer. After 15 overs they were 70 for one wicket, Ganguly having been given out caught behind by umpire Daryl Harper for 23 scored off 44 balls. Sehwag was still firing on all cylinders and looking ominous on 36 not out.

Sehwag got a lovely boundary behind point from Tuffey's bowling in the third over, while Shane Bond bowled a bouncer that ended up going for four byes with wicket-keeper Brendon McCullum having no chance of getting a hand on it.

Daryl Tuffey's last over in his first spell was severely punished as he also made the mistake of bowling two wides. Ganguly took advantage of the extra balls to hit successive boundaries, one through cover point and one on driven.

When his spell finished Tuffey had conceded 28 runs from his five overs.

But there was little respite for the home team as his replacement at the crease, Andre Adams went for 11 off his first over, Sehwag taking a boundary with a cut shot and then a French cut which raced to the boundary.

Their superb hitting undid a magnificent spell of bowling by India's Javagal Srinath. They scored 50 runs off 23 balls. Vincent was 53 not out and Bond 31 not out off 15 balls.

He was used in three spells through the innings as Sourav Ganguly's main attacking weapon and he responded superbly with his 10 overs resulting in three wickets for 13 runs.

Everytime Ganguly asked him for something Srinath responded and he will go into the last game of the series in Hamilton on Tuesday needing three more wickets for his 300 wickets in ODIs.

New Zealand had to wait until Shane Bond joined Lou Vincent in the last wicket stand for a chance to take the attack to the Indians as the conditions were better used by the visiting bowlers. But, by batting out their 50 overs, the New Zealanders at least ensured the Indians would have to bat very well in the chase.

And there is every likelihood they won't have the same number of overs, due to their slow over rate, their constant companion during the series.

The New Zealand 100 came up at the same time as the 50 partnership between Scott Styris and Lou Vincent, in the 31st over. The 50-stand for the fifth wicket had taken 74 balls.

They started to up the rate during the 30s, with Styris vicious on the pull shot, and unleashing a lovely back cut off Agarkar's bowling during a productive 36th over.

Vincent, one of the best runners in the New Zealand side between the wickets was upping the ante on the Indian fieldsmen with some 'applied' running.

With the need to start pushing the scoring rate, there was a necessity for greater risk-taking and it was with this in mind that Styris was out, attempting to lift a ball from Sourav Ganguly but not getting enough on the ball and being taken by Sanjay Bangar at wide mid-off for 42 scored off 52 balls. New Zealand were 130 for five at the 40-over mark.

Then, disaster struck for Brendon McCullum when he attempted to force a quick single, but Vincent turned him back and Javagal Srinath, who had just resumed bowling flicked the ball onto the wickets to catch McCullum just short of his ground, having had to try and run around the bowler.

Kyle Mills lasted little long being undone by Srinath for a duck at which stage Andre Adams came to the wicket with New Zealand 134 for seven wickets.

In an ominous moment for the Indians, Adams was bowled by a ball that stayed low from Zaheer Khan for two runs. In the 46th over New Zealand were 144 for eight wickets.

Daryl Tuffey attempted a run off his own batting was turned back and couldn't regain his ground before the bails were lifted. He scored two and New Zealand in the 47th over were 147 for nine.

Shane Bond provided the fireworks of the innings with a four that brought up the 150, then cut another boundary in the next over, the 48th bowled by Zaheer Khan. Vincent followed that with four to backward square leg which allowed New Zealand to go into the last two overs on 162 for nine wickets.

Bond then hit a superb straight six back over Ganguly's head, and followed next ball with a pulled six into the upper deck of the West Stand. He followed that with two chipped to mid on. It was welcome relief from the earlier misery.

To make matters worse for Ganguly he took four off the last ball for 18 off the over.

Ashish Nehra had earlier completed his 10 overs for one for 31.

Ganguly also bowled superbly and had one for 17 from his first seven overs. But he suffered at the end.

On a pitch which had been covered by a marquee for two days to allow preparation, but which had also suffered because of the amount of moisture around Auckland for the last week, it was amongst the most difficult conditions of the series.

Frustrating as that has been, New Zealand clearly set themselves the goal of batting through their 50 overs, the biggest fault of their fifth-game loss in Wellington on Wednesday.

At the 30-over mark, New Zealand were 96 for four wickets. Scott Styris was 22 not out off 28 balls, and Lou Vincent 16 not out off 42 balls.

In the 16th over, Mathew Sinclair had survived a big appeal for leg before wicket from Ashish Nehra's bowling, and had umpire Brent Bowden turn it down although it looked a very good shout.

Sinclair celebrated his let off by moving down the pitch in the next over, the 17th as Javagal Srinath returned, to hit him through the covers for four runs. But in the process of loosening up, Sinclair increased his vulnerability and played the ball on to his wickets to be bowled for 18, scored off 54 balls.

Off the next ball, the first ball of the 18th over, Chris Cairns nearly chipped a catch to Yuvraj at point but it dropped just in front of him.

In the next over, he saw up the 50 with two runs through point, but in the same over Srinath got through the same gap between bat and pad that he had exploited in Wellington in Cairns' first match back. Cairns was bowled for 13, scored off 22 balls and New Zealand were 50 for four wickets.

Lou Vincent also had a lucky break when, life Fleming, he was caught off a no ball bowled by Zaheer.

The going was very slow, but Scott Styris enlivened things a little in the 25th over with a stunning pull shot for four runs off Agarkar. It proved just the beginning as he two to mid-wicket and then followed that up with a cover driven four. New Zealand were 72 for four wickets at that stage.

By working the quick singles, just as captain Stephen Fleming had promised in the pre-game comments, the pair kept the score ticking over, and while it wasn't as fast as the crowd would have wanted, it was at least moving.

It was helped by the odd ball being dropped short and both batsmen were able to rock onto the back foot and pull the ball to mid-wicket for boundaries.

Srinath was the most outstanding of the Indian bowlers, his seven overs to date having cost only 10 runs for his two wickets.

Conditions, after two days of rain, and high humidity, were very difficult for the batsmen and scoring was pedestrian as the batsmen tried to survive, see off the effects of the new ball in the conditions, and then leave sufficient time and wickets to build a significant score later in the innings.

At the 15-over mark, New Zealand were 42 for two wickets.

Once again the ball was zipping around more than was comfortable and opener Mathew Sinclair took one painful blow just below his ribs when facing Javagal Srinath.

Several times he and Stephen Fleming were beaten but were able to avoid the edge being taken. Fleming did have a life when caught at third man off Zaheer Khan's bowling - but it was ruled a no ball by umpire Brent Bowden and he returned.

However, when Indian captain Sourav Ganguly made the first bowling change, replacing Zaheer with Ashish Nehra, the New Zealand captain freed up a little too much. He took two from Nehra's first ball, then the first boundary of the innings, a flowing off-drive. But in attempting to attack the third ball, he had it move away from him off the pitch, take the edge of his bat and held by wicket-keeper Rahul Dravid.

Fleming scored 14 off 32 balls and New Zealand were 26 for one wicket.

Srinath's first spell was recognition of his experience in the conditions, he bowled his five overs at a cost of four runs.

Chris Harris, elevated to No 3, barely had time to settle into position before he was trapped leg before wicket to Agit Agarkar, in his first over, for a six-ball duck.

His replacement Chris Cairns took a measured attitude in settling in at the crease, but it only took Nehra to deviate a fraction for Cairns to despatch the ball over point in a nicely controlled shot for four runs.

In the 15th over, he wasn't quite in as much control for a similar shot off Agarkar and picked up only two runs. Then off the last ball of the over he played a much more aerial shot to the vacant spaces on the cover boundary to pick up four and leave New Zealand 42 for two at the end of the 15 overs. Sinclair was 13 not out, off 44 balls, and Cairns was on 10.

Play is to start at 2.15pm, 15 minutes late, and the full 50 overs will be played with only a 30-minute break between innings.

The conditions are very warm with a breeze from the north-east blowing across the ground.

Ground staff removed some sodden turf from the northern boundary and replaced it with turf from the No 2 ground earlier today.

The pitch looks brown and bare, although no-one is reading too much into it until it is tested by the bowling, especially after what happened in the first match between the two sides.

India did win the toss today and asked New Zealand to bat first. That will be a significant test for New Zealand given the absence of the country's best one-day batsman Nathan Astle who is resting his left knee. Daniel Vettori has been named 12th man for New Zealand which allows Kyle Mills to come back into the side.

India have also left out their two spinners, recalling Agit Agarkar and Sanjay Bangar.

The teams are:

New Zealand: Stephen Fleming (captain), Mathew Sinclair, Chris Harris, Chris Cairns, Scott Styris, Lou Vincent, Brendon McCullum, Andre Adams, Kyle Mills, Daryl Tuffey, Shane Bond. (12th man - Daniel Vettori).

India: Sourav Ganguly (captain), Sanjay Bangar Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif, Agit Agarkar, Zaheer Khan, Javagal Srinath, Ashish Nehra.

The umpires are: Brent Bowden (New Zealand) and Daryl Harper (Australia).