Kiwis in runaway 200-run victory

Chris DHAMBARAGE reporting from Dambulla

New Zealand got their World Cup preparations right on track with a huge 200-run victory over favourites India in the opening match of the Tri Series limited overs tournament which commenced at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium yesterday.

India chasing a record total of 288 runs to win under lights were in deep trouble from the start and they eventually folded up for a dismal 88 runs from 29.3 overs which is in fact the lowest score at this venue.

New Zealand put up a clinical performance on the field and also went on to collect an extra bonus point which could be vital at the end of the competition.

Their fast bowlers stuck to their task and made life difficult for the Indian batsmen with some clever variation and the occasional bounce.

The openers Virender Sehwag and Dinesh Karthik of course added 39 runs before the drama unfolded thereafter. Both Sehwag and Karthik departed in successive deliveries and from there onwards it turned out to be a long hard struggle for the Indian team.

Suresh Raina and Rohith Sharma also could not last long and when skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni was run out at the non-strikers end the game was almost over for India. Left hander Yuvraj Singh making a comeback to the one day scene laboured for 25 deliveries for his five runs and was sixth out with the total at 62 in the 17th over.

The two opening bowlers Kyle Mills and Darryl Tuffey did the early damage while Jacob Oram and Andy McKay added the finishing touches and wrapped up the innings much earlier than they expected.

A record fourth wicket partnership between skipper Ross Taylor and Scott Styris spearheaded New Zealand to a formidable 288 runs in the Tri Series limited overs cricket tournament opening match against India at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium yesterday.

The pair came together at a critical stage of the innings when the Kiwis had slumped to 28 for 3 after they had won the toss and elected to bat first. But the two most experienced batsmen of the New Zealand team put their heads down and carried the team towards a strong position at the end.

Skipper Taylor leading the team only for the second time led the recovery and hit a top score of 95 while putting on a magnificent 190 runs for the fourth wicket along with all rounder Scott Styris.

The pair bettered the previous fourth wicket ground record of 121 runs held by the Sri Lankan combination of Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardena against Australia in 2004. This was also New Zealand’s best ever fourth wicket partnership and the highest against India.

Both Taylor and Styris counter attacked beautifully despite the early setback and played aggressively while making good use of the field restrictions during the first 15 overs of the innings.

New Zealand took another bold decision by asking for the batting power play after the completion of the 30th over with the total at 150 for 3.

The move certainly worked well for them because Taylor and Styris continued with the good work to collect 43 runs from these five overs.

The pair really accelerated the scoring rate during this period with Styris taking over the leading role to smash a sparkling 89 from 95 balls with one six and nine boundaries.

Taylor then fell just five runs away from completing a century having hoisted one six and struck eight boundaries during his 113 ball innings.

India of course made a brief comeback into the game while capturing a couple of quick wickets.

However some useful contributions from Jacob Oram and Darryl Tuffey during the latter part of the innings enabled New Zealand to finish their innings on a high note. Earlier some hostile bowling from the Indian seamers put New Zealand in early trouble and under tremendous pressure. Ashish Nehra and Praveen Kumar both certainly exploited the early seam movement of the wicket to trouble most of the batsmen.