The home side destroyed Indian hopes of victory on the last day with a huge second innings, before the tourists batted out the remaining two sessions without experiencing too many scares.

The result means New Zealand take the three-match series 1-0 by virtue of their four-wicket victory in the second Test in Wellington, after the first match was abandoned due to rain without a ball being bowled.

All-rounder Chris Cairns set up the Kiwis' last-gasp tilt for victory on day five with a bludgeoning 126 which, along with his six wickets, earned him the man of the match award.

New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming eventually declared at 464-8, 13 minutes after lunch, with India 414 behind and facing a tricky final four hours.

But with the Kiwis shorn of two of their leading bowlers, Dion Nash and Daniel Vettori, through injury, the Indian batsmen were able to play out a draw with ease.

After an early flutter when openers Ajay Jadeja and Navjot Sidhu were dismissed with just 55 on the board, Rahul Dravid and Saurav Ganguly smashed the part-time attack for unbeaten centuries, as India reached 249-2 at stumps.

Double trouble: Rahul Dravid scored tons in both innings

Dravid's 103 put him among a select band of batsmen who have scored a century in each innings of a Test.

Fleming said he had delayed his declaration because he wanted to make sure the Indians were out of a game that was played on a perfect track.

"The pitch had hardly deteriorated and there was no way we could have bowled them out. Also, three of our bowlers were injured or ill," he said.

India coach Anshuman Gaekwad blamed poor catching and a lack of bowling firepower for the continuation of his side's dismal Test record overseas.

"We batted all right and the bowling wasn't too bad, although there is no doubt that three strike bowlers were not enough to beat this fine side," he said.

Scorecard:

India second innings:
A Jadeja c Parore b Cairns 21
N Sidhu b Cairns 13
R Dravid not out 103
S Ganguly not out 101
Extras 11
Total (for two wickets, 52.1 overs) 249

Fall: 1-33, 2-55.

Bowling: Doull 4-0-17-0, Cairns 9-1-30-2, McMillan 17-4-59-0, Wiseman 12-0-80-0, Twose 9.1-0-50-0, Horne 1-0-4-0.

New Zealand second innings:

M Bell lbw b Tendulkar 25
M Horne c Mongia b Srinath 26
S Fleming b Prasad 18
R Twose 1bw b Tendulkar 4
C McMillan c Mongia b Robin Singh jr 84
A Parore c Robin Singh jr b Kumble 50
C Cairns c Dravid b Kumble 126
D Nash run out 63
D Vettori not out 43
Extras 25
Total (for eight wickets dec, 137.5 overs) 464

Fall of wickets: 1-46 2-69 3-76 4-85 5-225 6-225, 7-372, 8-464

Bowling: V Prasad 33-8-75-1, R Singh Jr 19-3-102-1, J Srinath 27-6-90-1, A Kumble 45.5-13-124-2, S Tendulkar 7-0-30-2, S Ganguly 6-1-27-0.

India first Innings:

N Sidhu c Parore b Cairns 1
A Jadeja c Nash b Doull 12
R Dravid c McMillan b Cairns 190
S Tendulkar lbw b Nash 67
S Ganguly c Fleming b Doull 11
M Azharuddin c Fleming b Cairns 4
N.R. Mongia c Horne b Nash 7 A Kumble c Parore b Doull 0 J Srinath c Twose b Wiseman 76
B Prasad not out 30
R Singh Jr c Fleming b Cairns 0
Extras 18
Total 416

Fall of wickets: 17, 17, 126, 164, 195, 204, 211, 355, 416

To bat: A Kumble, J Srinath, V Prasad, R Singh Jr

Bowling: S Doull 15-6-29-2, C Cairns 10-3-54-2, D Nash 16-6-35-1, D Vettori 13-2-63-0, C McMillan 2-0-13-0

New Zealand first Innings:
M Bell c Mongia b Srinath 0
M Horne b Srinath 63
S Fleming c Dravid b Srinath 0
R Twose c Mongia b Prasad 87
C McMillan c Prasad b Kumble 92
A Parore c sub (V.V.K.Laxman) b Prasad 21
P Wiseman c Ganguly b Singh 13
C Cairns b Singh 2
D Nash not out 18
D Vettori b Srinath 24
S Doull c Kumble b Srinath 6
Extras 40
Total (121.2 overs) 366

Fall of wickets: 0, 0, 95, 255, 278, 311, 314, 315, 356, 366

Bowling: J Srinath 32.2-10-95-5, V Prasad 33-10-61-2, A Kumble 27-07-64-1, R Singh Jr 21-5-74-2, S Ganguly 5-3-25-0, S Tendulkar 3-0-23-0