Ahmedabad, Oct. 30 :     INDIA 583/7 NEW ZEALAND 18/1 If Matthew Horne was granted one wish, it?s almost certain he wouldn?t ever want to be an opener again. Not after being made to take guard after well over 11 hours on the field. Even the most seasoned of pros would find that tough, somebody of Horne?s experience (23 Tests) more so. In the event, Horne failed to survive the 11 overs till stumps on Day-II of the third and final Pepsi Test. And, with his early departure, New Zealand found themselves stuffed even more. Big trouble was on the cards yesterday itself, after Stephen Fleming lost the toss on a beauty of a featherbed. It reached choking proportions once the imperious ? and imperial ? Sachin Tendulkar chose the Gujarat Stadium, in nearby Motera, to be the venue for his first-ever double century. Not to be left out, the ever-elegant Sourav Ganguly rubbed it in by posting his seventh Test century. In fact, Sachin and Sourav rewrote the all-time best fourth-wicket record: 281, improving on their own 256 vs Sri Lanka (Mumbai, December 1997). Actually, to complete New Zealand?s humiliation, Anil Kumble and Jawagal Srinath added an unbeaten 62 for the eighth-wicket! Forget scoring close to 400, thereby averting the follow-on, New Zealand?s body-language suggests they are reconciled to a 0-2 defeat. Of course, there?s no devil in the wicket, but the jumbo Indian total, coming just days after that rout in Kanpur, has dented New Zealand?s confidence even more. Hopes of making it 1-1, terribly optimistic in the first place, have disappeared quicker than the latest Vadilal offering in these parts. Resuming at 311 for three, the Indians declared some 64 minutes after tea, by when a vice-like grip had been assured. Top honours went to the captain (217 in 494 minutes, 343 deliveries, 29x4), with Sourav a close second (125 in 323 minutes, 252 deliveries, 20x4). Ball No. 1, from Chris Cairns, was a bouncer which Sachin ignored. If the bowler meant to convey anything, well, nothing was conveyed. On the other hand, the first scoring stroke was a boundary, in over No. 1 itself, by Sachin. That did convey something ? as it turned out, that the ten-year wait for his maiden double century would end today itself. Like yesterday, Sachin (who, last evening, was not out on 104) stroked to all corners of the park. And matching him was Sourav, whose footwork to the spinners, specially, was delightful. If anything, a blow to his left forearm, courtesy Cairns, only firmed his resolve to convert yesterday?s unbeaten 51 into a century. By lunch, Sachin and Sourav added 92 and the only time they appeared to lose cool was when the New Zealanders ?objected? to Sourav, in particular, treading on to the danger area. Briefly, it did get even more hot out in the middle with Sachin and Dion Nash keeping their ?line?. Still, nobody overstepped in a manner that would have attracted Match Referee Ranjan Madugalle?s attention in a real big way. Madugalle did speak to Sachin and New Zealand manager Jeff Crowe, at the break, and thereafter the ?bad blood? was a thing of the past. The script didn?t read any differently after lunch, with Sourav reaching his century with a trademark off-driven boundary off Nash. He was set for a bigger score, but fell in ?soft? manner to Nathan Astle. The regret was much in evidence, many hours later too. And Sourav didn?t hide it: ?I shouldn?t have got out in that manner and at that point in time,? he told The Telegraph. Sachin, though, kept going and if frequent mid-pitch conversations were a feature of his massive partnership with Sourav, the change in partner (Ajay Jadeja) made no difference. As Sachin neared the 200-mark, the ambience at the Gujarat Stadium had that electric touch. And, having learnt from the twin mistakes in the 90s, Sachin didn?t repeat them in the 190s. For the 18,000-odd turnout, that was like manna from heaven. Indeed, Sachin got to his double century with a single, a safe push towards square-leg rather than with anything extravagant. He was over-the-moon and it showed. Jadeja, though, missed out on the party: He threw away his wicket when belting every ball wasn?t exactly the need of the hour. Not when Sachin was around. After that, MSK Prasad had an even more brief guest appearance. Eventually, Sachin himself fell to a fantastic catch by Nash, off the persevering Daniel Vettori. Seeking to send Vettori over the top, Sachin got the ball low on the bat and Nash, at widish mid-on, held on. Sachin stood his ground, for a moment or two, but as umpire Rudi Koertzen was sure the catch was clean, he began the long walk back, with a standing ovation perhaps providing some solace. At stumps, however, Sachin confessed to being ?very disappointed.? The limitations of New Zealand?s attack surfaced in no small measure ? Paul Wiseman, for one, has much to get wise about ? but a dangerous bowler in the making is young Vettori, the left-arm spinner. That he takes on such an enormous workload, with no apparent loss in enthusiasm, should carry him far. For now, New Zealand?s top-order needs to learn from Vettori ? to not give up despite such tormenting odds.