Until yesterday, very few people in the cricket world, outside of New Zealand, will have heard of Billy Bowden. However, as New Zealand cruised to a 5 wicket victory over India in the first One Day International at Taupo, not even a 50 minute period of darkness, as the lights went out on the Kiwi run chase, could upstage the eccentric umpire.

Taupo is a new venue on the international cricketing map, and as it breathed new life into the often mundane world of one-day cricket, it was Bowden who led the way, signalling boundaries and extras, and even calling for the third umpire, with a flourish that was welcome, and one hopes will be encouraged in the one day arena. It was not so much a cricket match, as a theatrical event, and how appropriate it was, for that is the nature of the pyjama game. With music blaring over the loudspeakers at every possible moment, the crowd were also quickly into the spirit of things - a ten thousand person rendition of the classic ``YMCA'' while the lights were out was something very special to behold, perhaps outshone only by the glorious sunset which graced the skies in the twilight hours.

The cricket itself was as much as can be expected from this form of the game and New Zealand were the comfortable winners. Any suggestion that they won only because of the revised target after the lights went out, would do them a great disservice. After a career-defining unbeaten 123 from 123 deliveries from Rahul Dravid, it was the belligerent Craig McMillan, also continuing his good form from the Tests, who really set up the New Zealand victory. By the time he was dismissed, the game had been all but won.

As if to emphasise this, the lights chose to go out just four balls later. New Zealand were 168/3 at this stage, still 90 to get, but with 20 overs and seven wickets in hand, it would have taken a brave man to bet against them. All said and done, the resultant farce was not acceptable at an International venue. Lights do go out, yes, it can happen, but a delay of almost an hour is not on - not for the crowd, and not for the players. When play did resume, New Zealand's revised target was 200, to be scored in 39 overs - leaving them with 32 runs to get in 50 deliveries. A deserved win, for certain, but it was a little disappointing that it had to be in such contrived circumstances.

Earlier in the day, India, despite the absence of key bowler Anil Kumble with a shoulder injury, elected to bat after winning the toss on a good, firm wicket. It was New Zealand who had the dream start however, when in the third over of the innings, Chris Cairns got one to lift and come back in to Sachin Tendulkar, who could only guide it straight into the hands of Chris Harris at second slip.

With Saurav Ganguly looking rather scratchy, and Rahul Dravid fighting for his place in the one day side, Indian fans would have been nervous. This has however been Dravid's series, and he picked up right where he left off in the Test matches. Right into his stride, he was able to pick up runs at will. Particularly noticeable was his running of singles, no mean feat with Ganguly as your partner. The left hander, having a difficult time with the moving ball in these parts, continues to be a liability with his running between the wickets, and today was no exception, as he frustrated not only his partner, but himself, with several missed opportunities.

The pair made smooth progress, and it was noticeable that while the medium paces were played with relative ease, both found the going much more difficult against the slower bowlers, with Harris and Larsen employing their subtle variations to tremendous effect. It was Daniel Vettori who finally provided the breakthrough for New Zealand, in the midst of a spell of bowling which suggested that he is a better bowler than the Test matches showed. Having beaten Ganguly in the flight once in an over, he repeated the measure as the left hander looked to give him the charge, and Gavin Larsen made no mistake as the ball ballooned out to deep mid wicket. It wasn't the best 60 runs Ganguly has scored for India, but it gave his side a solid platform on which to build.

However, although Dravid continued to milk the bowling, first Mohammad Azharuddin, and then Ajay Jadeja found that things weren't as easy as they appeared. Neither seemed able to judge the pace of the pitch, and Azhar's attempt to gilde a straight ball down to third man, which resulted in his off stump being pegged back, was as predictable as it was unbecoming. Jadeja tamely spooned one back to Chris Harris, who seemed to bowl slower and slower with each successive delivery, and at 166/4 in the 39th over, India looked to be a little short.

Robin Singh and Dravid had other ideas however, and they got the scoreboard moving again, although the New Zealand bowlers could be faulted for apparently bowling to Robin's strengths. Fleming brought on McMillan, in an attempt to try something different, and he almost had an immediate impact. Dravid overbalanced whilst stretching on the front foot, and Adam Parore, in perhaps his finest moment of the series so far, whipped off the bails in a flash. It was a superb piece of wicket keeping, but the replays showed that incredibly, Dravid had somehow managed to keep his back foot just behind the line, in an act of contortionism of which umpire Bowden would have been proud.

The last ten overs of the Indiian added 82 runs, Dravid scoring 40 off those off just 24 deliveries. There was much excitement as he reached a well deserved hundred in the 46th over, and then was put down by Horne on the boundary shortly thereafter. The crowd, and millions of television viewers will have been grateful for that though, as in the penultimate over he played what was perhaps the shot of the tour so far, a back foot cover drive on bended knee. It fetched him four runs, and will e forever etched in the memory of those who saw it.

Needing 258 to win, a good start was imperative for New Zealand, and thanks to Matthew Horne and Craig McMillan, after the early departure of Roger Twose, they got just that. The runs flowed easily, off Prasad in particular, and it was almost no surprise when the pressure got to the Indian seamer. McMillan set off for a run, and Prasad, seeing his tormentor approaching, deftly side-stepped straight into his path. It was a blatant piece of gamesmanship, and both Horne and McMillan let Prasad know just what they thought of it, and it will be little surprise if the Match Referee does the same when he reviews the incident. In the bowlers defence, Dion Nash may have been guilty of a similar incident towards the end of the Indian innings, but that can be no justification for his actions.

The two batsmen tore into the Indian bowlers, and there was no respite even when Robin Singh replaced Prasad. The introduction of spin in the form of Nikhil Chopra seemed to have a calming effect, but a single off every delivery is as telling as the occasional lusty blow to the fence, and New Zealand drove on to 105 for the loss of Twose at the fifteen over mark. Continued poor fielding didn't help the Indian cause, and their lackadaisical approach was in many ways exemplified by the fact that Chopra was wearing Sunil Joshi's sweater, and Joshi, on the field as a substitute, was wearing Chopras.

In desperation, Azharuddin turned to Sachin Tendulkar, and the man with the golden arm struck yet again. Horne had looked relatively uncomfortable against the spinners, and he paid the price when he played for turn which wasn't quite there, and was trapped plumb in front. With Stephen Fleming nursing a groin strain, it was Chris Cairns who strode to the crease at number four, possibly the last person the Indians wanted to see at the time. Tendulkar and Chopra were able to keep things relatively tight, but it was a wicket India needed, and with Tendulkar able to extract turn from time to time, and bearing in mind Cairns' penchant for the big hit, Azharuddin kept a slip posted throughout.

The wicket wasn't forthcoming however, and in a last throw of the dice, the Indian skipper brought back his strike bowler, and Srinath didn't take long to remove McMillan, a slower ball deceiving the batsman, who holed out to mid on. It was too little to late in reality though, McMillan's brilliant and intelligent knock having all but taken the game away from India.

The series moves on to Napier, with the second ODI again a day/night affair. For India, it may represent a last chance to salvage their tour, for it is hard to see them coming back from 2-0 down in the one day series. For the Kiwis, it will be an opportunity for them to once again prove what an underrated force they are in the one day game.