Colombo, September 12: India wrapped up a comprehensive display of good cricket with a six-wicket victory over a clueless New Zealand side. It was a day that marked the entry of Dhoni’s men in the reckoning for the top ODI spot in the ICC rankings for a long time to come, if the current brand of cricket sticks.
Sachin Tendulkar (46), Ashish Nehra (3/24), Yuvraj Singh (3/31) and Ishant Sharma (2/26) lead the charge with impressive figures for the day.
The scoring for India, as in the case with New Zealand, was slow, but the difference was for all to see in the chase, where despite some early blows, India kept their cool. Dhoni (36*) and Suresh Raina (45*) showed character on a pitch that has claimed numerous top batsmen for a moment of lapse in error, guiding the Men in Blue to an emphatic win, setting up a positive tone for the rest of the series that might see them leading the ODI charts after a long time.
India had lost two quick wickets after getting an eye set-in for a win, as Sachin Tendulkar was claimed at 46 by Vettori. His wicket was preceded by Dravid, who was out for a paltry 14, the losses were temporary but the grit of the middle-order ensured a happy outing for the visitors.
Yuvraj, the danger-man, was done-in as he mistimed a flighted delivery by Vettori into the hands of Guptill after scoring eight runs, he would have preferred to make an impact in the tourney starter of the team, but will have to wait a little more to fulfil the promise.
Kyle Mills had started his night with a bang, claiming his 150th wicket in the form of opener Dinesh Karthik for a score of four runs, but the pacer could not do as much damage as he would have liked.
Tidy bowling figures, smiles all around the ground and few runs on the board… This defined the first half of the second ODI of the Compaq Cup, where India restricted a hapless looking New Zealand outfit to a paltry 155.
The final honours belonged to Ashish Nehra, as he claimed Ian butler with a short one. Ishant had shook the penultimate wicket with an off side beauty that nipped back to rattle the stumps of skipper Daniel Vettori (25).
One of the biggest woes to address for the Kiwi coach would be the emerging trend of his batsmen getting into the 20-run figures and then throwing the wicket away.
RP Singh, on the other hand, had a great day on the turf as he constantly obliged his team with a breakthrough at crucial junctures. He clean bowled Kyle Mill (6) just when a fragment of a partnership seemed to be evolving at the death of the Kiwi innings.
Scorecard card: India V New Zealand, the attitude of the Indian bowlers was clinical and no respite was offered to the New Zealanders.
Yuvi took on the role of the prime spinner of the side with his third wicket in the form of Neil Broom (7th NZ scalp) who went after scoring a gritty 21.
he tables seem to have turned in favour of the bowers in the tournament with the first match also being a wicket fest of sorts.
—Agencies