India stroll home in rain-hit match
Wednesday, 4 March 2009
India 273 for 4 (Dhoni 84*, Sehwag 77, Raina 66) beat New Zealand 162 for 9 (Guptill 64, Harbhajan 3-27) by 53 runs by D/L Method.
Virender Sehwag set the tone with a typical fire-starting innings, and fine hands from Suresh Raina and Mahendra Singh Dhoni were also instrumental as India eased to a comfortable 53-run victory [by Duckworth-Lewis Method] in a match twice interrupted by rain.
India piled up a mammoth 273 for 4 from their 38 overs and then reduced New Zealand to 111 for 4 before further rain left them the near-impossible task of scoring 105 from 43 balls. Harbhajan Singh then picked up three wickets in four balls as the match fizzled out and apart from Martin Guptill's accomplished 64, there was little for New Zealand to take from McLean Park.
After a small mid-innings wobble, Raina and Dhoni added 110 from just 12.2 overs to wrest the initiative. Daniel Vettori had brought about a lull in the proceedings after Ross Taylor's stunning catch to send back Sehwag, but once 40 came from the three overs of the batting Powerplay, there was no holding the Indians back.
New Zealand had reason to rue some poor bowling, with Kyle Mills, returning from injury, especially culpable. Raina was in superb touch, and full tosses from Mills were ruthlessly dealt with, usually with cleaves of the bat that sent the ball soaring over midwicket for six. When the bowlers tried to curb him by bowling wide of the stumps, Raina improvised to squeeze-steer the ball backward of point for fours. With Dhoni rotating the strike cleverly at the other end, New Zealand had no answer.
Virender Sehwag set the tone with a typical fire-starting innings, and fine hands from Suresh Raina and Mahendra Singh Dhoni were also instrumental as India eased to a comfortable 53-run victory [by Duckworth-Lewis Method] in a match twice interrupted by rain.
India piled up a mammoth 273 for 4 from their 38 overs and then reduced New Zealand to 111 for 4 before further rain left them the near-impossible task of scoring 105 from 43 balls. Harbhajan Singh then picked up three wickets in four balls as the match fizzled out and apart from Martin Guptill's accomplished 64, there was little for New Zealand to take from McLean Park.
After a small mid-innings wobble, Raina and Dhoni added 110 from just 12.2 overs to wrest the initiative. Daniel Vettori had brought about a lull in the proceedings after Ross Taylor's stunning catch to send back Sehwag, but once 40 came from the three overs of the batting Powerplay, there was no holding the Indians back.
New Zealand had reason to rue some poor bowling, with Kyle Mills, returning from injury, especially culpable. Raina was in superb touch, and full tosses from Mills were ruthlessly dealt with, usually with cleaves of the bat that sent the ball soaring over midwicket for six. When the bowlers tried to curb him by bowling wide of the stumps, Raina improvised to squeeze-steer the ball backward of point for fours. With Dhoni rotating the strike cleverly at the other end, New Zealand had no answer.