da mrbet： Virender Sehwag set the tone with a typical fire-starting innings, andfine hands from Suresh Raina and Mahendra Singh Dhoni were alsoinstrumental as India eased to a comfortable 53-run victory [byDuckworth-Lewis] in a match twice interrupted by rain
The Bulletin by Dileep Premachandran03-Mar-2009
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Mahendra Singh Dhoni promoted himself to No.3 and top scored with an unbeaten 84 © Getty Images
Virender Sehwag set the tone with a typical fire-starting innings, andfine hands from Suresh Raina and Mahendra Singh Dhoni were alsoinstrumental as India eased to a comfortable 53-run victory [byDuckworth-Lewis] 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 111for 4 before further rain left them the near-impossible task of scoring105 from 43 balls. Harbhajan Singh then picked up three wickets in fourballs as the match fizzled out and apart from Martin Guptill’saccomplished 64, there was little for New Zealand to take from McLeanPark.After a small mid-innings wobble, Raina and Dhoni added 110 from just 12.2overs to wrest the initiative. Daniel Vettori had brought about a lull in the proceedings after Ross Taylor’s stunning catch to send back Sehwag, butonce 40 came from the three overs of the batting Powerplay, there was noholding 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, andfull tosses from Mills were ruthlessly dealt with, usually with cleaves ofthe bat that sent the ball soaring over midwicket for six. When thebowlers tried to curb him by bowling wide of the stumps, Raina improvisedto squeeze-steer the ball backward of point for fours. With Dhoni rotatingthe strike cleverly at the other end, New Zealand had no answer.It wasn’t as though Dhoni was only the supporting act though. He pulledpowerfully on occasion, paddle-swept cleverly and also played one majesticwristy flick through midwicket off Ian Butler. With the regular bowlerspowerless to stop the onslaught, Vettori turned to Grant Elliott. Itworked, with Raina miscuing another big hit. But by then, the run-rate washovering around seven an over, and it went beyond that as Yusuf Pathan (20from just 10 balls) and Dhoni finished strongly.Sehwag had started the day with a clutch off fours off the wayward Mills,but the players were back inside the dressing rooms within 20 minutes asthe rain came down. By the time the game resumed, 24 overs in total had been lost,and India’s sense of urgency was apparent. Sachin Tendulkar pulled IainO’Brien for four, and then guided Mills through the vacant slip position,while Sehwag cut a six over point.Things were looking bleak for New Zealand before Ian Butler came on, playinghis first ODI in more than four years. It was an inspired move, withTendulkar getting the thinnest of edges through to Brendon McCullum. Thatdidn’t stop Sehwag though. He pulled Jacob Oram for four to get to hishalf-century from 37 balls and then clipped one through midwicket for fourmore. Even Butler wasn’t spared, with a cut for four and a swat throughsquare-leg as the 100 of the innings came up in just 14 overs.Vettori brought himself on immediately afterwards, but there was littlerespite. Dhoni cut one powerfully for four and then lofted one to thesightscreen, before Taylor’s dramatic intervention gave New Zealand asniff of a chance. When Yuvraj, bogged down by accurate bowling, followedsoon after – a victim of his own hesitation between the wickets – Indiacould have lost their way, but Dhoni and Raina hadn’t forgotten theircompasses or their range of strokes.New Zealand never got the stroke-filled start that they needed. ZaheerKhan commenced with a maiden over, but it was Praveen Kumar who struckthe crucial blow early on, having McCullum caught off the top edge at deepfine-leg. Jesse Ryder thumped him down to long-off for a four, butanother attempted heave only found Sehwag inside the circle.Only 23 runs came from the first eight overs of the Powerplay, but Taylor andGuptill then broke free with some attractive strokes. Taylor cutMunaf Patel for four, while Guptill lofted the ball sweetly down to thelong-on boundary. With singles and twos being taken cleverly, the Indianswere briefly rattled.Taylor greeted Yusuf with a cut for four behind point, but amiscued slog-sweep only found Sachin Tendulkar at short fine-leg. Guptillcontinued to work the ball around cleverly, but with the fours drying up,the game began to drift away. And the pressure eventually told whenRaina’s throw from the deep found Elliott just short of his ground whilegoing for a second run.The rain then returned, and with 10 overs lopped off the innings, therewas only time for New Zealand to go down swinging. Jacob Oram was caughtbehind off Yuvraj and Neil Broom stumped off Harbhajan. Guptill’sresistance then ended with a fine catch by Gautam Gambhir at deep midwicket.Vettori ensured that his team wouldn’t be bowled out, but that was littleconsolation on a day when New Zealand were second-best by a distance.