The surface at Mohali will be different - we have a chance of winning there Sourav Ganguly

And he was quick to defend his bowlers who were unable to bowl New Zealand out a second time on Sunday.

The hosts were in control when spinners Anil Kumble (4-95) and Harbhajan Singh (2-65) reduced New Zealand to 86-4 before lunch and then 169-6 before tea.

But they could not complete the job.

New Zealand middle-order batsmen Craig McMillan (83 not out) and Nathan Astle (51 not out) put on 103 for the unfinished seventh wicket to save the match.

"No, I don't think our bowlers are not good enough to bowl the opposition out twice," said Ganguly.

"They bowled well on a pitch which did not favour them. They tried very hard.

"It's up to the people who have the responsibility to see how they prepare wickets in the country."

The Sardar Patel Stadium track here offered only slow turn even on the fifth day.

And that was not good enough for the Indian spinners to complete the victory.

Fleming joy

Ganguly said he was not disappointed with the result and his team will make another effort to force a win in the second and last Test, starting at Mohali on Thursday.

He added: "The surface at Mohali will be different and if our batsmen put runs on the board again, we have a chance of winning there."

New Zealand skipper Stephen Fleming praised his batsmen for drawing the match from a difficult position.

"Drawing the match required a phenomenal effort," he said.

"We had to tackle the conditions (hot and humid) as well as the Indian spinners.

New Zealand opener Lou Vincent, who scored a defiant 67, said: "We lost only five wickets on the last day to two world-class spinners, so we are happy with the result."

Ajit Agarkar replaces the injured Aavishkar Salvi in the Indian squad for Mohali.