DAMBULLA, (Reuters) – Virender Sehwag smashed 110 off 93 balls to carry India to the final of the one-day tri-nation final with a comprehensive 105-run win over New Zealand yesterday.
Sehwag stood tall as wickets fell around him, smacking 16 fours and a six to take India to a total of 223 after they had lost their first four wickets for 66 runs having chosen to bat first.
Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (38) helped Sehwag add 107 for the fifth wicket before New Zealand bowlers once again pitched into the Indian batting line up to capture four wickets for eight runs and dismiss them well under the 50-over mark.
New Zealand began their run chase poorly, losing Martin Guptill for a duck to the second ball of their innings and they slumped to 53-8 before some lusty hits from number nine Kyle Mills carried them over the 100 mark.
Mills put the top order to shame, reaching his second one-day fifty off 35 balls with three sixes and seven fours out of New Zealand’s total of 118.
Praveen Kumar (3-34) and Munaf Patel (3-21) were the pick of India’s bowlers.
India will meet Sri Lanka in the final on Saturday.
SCOREBOARD
India innings
D. Karthik c Hopkins b Mills 0
V. Sehwag c Watling b McCullum 110
V. Kohli c Hopkins b Southee 8
Y. Singh c Hopkins b McKay 6
S. Raina c Williamson b Southee 1
M.S. Dhoni c Hopkins b McCullum 38
R. Jadeja c Taylor b Southee 17
P. Kumar c Mills b Southee 6
A. Nehra c&b McCullum 0
I. Sharma not out 8
M. Patel c McKay b Mills 7
Extras: (b-1, lb-5, nb-2, w-14) 22
Total: (all out; 46.3 overs) 223
Fall of wickets: 1-0 2-27 3-61 4-66 5-173 6-199 7-199 8-207 9-207 10-223
Bowling: Mills 8.3-1-42-2 (w-1, nb-2), Southee 10-2-49-4 (w-3), McKay 8-1-31-1 (w-4), Styris 6-0-37-0 (w-2), McCullum 10-0-35-3 (w-1), Williamson 4-0-23-0 (w-3).
New Zealand innings
B.J. Watling b Nehra 2
M. Guptill lbw b Kumar 0
R. Taylor c Dhoni b Kumar 8
G. Elliott lbw b Patel 11
S. Styris b Kumar 1
K. Williamson b Sharma 13
G. Hopkins lbw b Patel 0
N. McCullum c Karthik b Patel 5
K. Mills c Kumar b Nehra 52
T. Southee c Kumar b Jadeja 10
A. McKay not out 3
Extras: (lb-5, w-8) 13
Total: (all out; 30.1 overs) 118
Fall of wickets: 1-1 2-6 3-14 4-22 5-41 6-42 7-52 8-53 9-80 10-118
Bowling: Kumar 8-2-34-3 (w-2), Nehra 6.1-1-10-2 (w-3), Patel 7-1-21-3 (w-3), Sharma 6-1-27-1, Jadeja 3-0-21-1.
