AHMEDABAD, (Reuters) – The New Zealand opening batsmen complemented the efforts of their bowlers and thrashed Zimbabwe by 10 wickets in a one-sided match to notch up their second World Cup win today.
Paceman Tim Southee led a disciplined New Zealand bowling show to skittle Zimbabwe for 162 runs after the Africans chose to bat first in the Group A match at the Sardar Patel Stadium.
Southee bowled full and fast to pick up three wickets for 29 while captain Daniel Vettori and Kyle Mills, who returned from a back injury in place of batsman Jamie How, picked up two wickets apiece.
Openers Martin Guptill (86 not out) and Brendon McCullum (76 not out) then came back and swatted away whatever Zimbabwe threw at them and reached the target in under 34 overs.
New Zealand captain Vettori appeared a satisfied man after their second 10-wicket triumph in the tournament.
“I think this was the performance we were looking for. Right from the start… the way we bowled, the discipline we showed… the performance with the bat from Guptill and McCulllum… this was what we have been looking for from a long time,” he said.
The lopsided win, however, denied the New Zealand middle-order batsmen to get a workout before their crunch match against Pakistan on Tuesday in Pallekele.
But the captain was not worried.
“This is what we were after, where two guys take responsibility and that’s what we need to do in the big games coming up against Sri Lanka and Pakistan,” Vettori said after the match.
Both the right-handers were equally comfortable against medium pace and spin and used their feet well to deny their opponents any breakthroughs.
Zimbabwe got off to a poor start in the morning after captain Elton Chigumbura opted to bat first on a placid pitch.
The run out of opener Charles Coventry in the second over of the morning put Zimbabwe on the back-foot early and the New Zealand bowlers ensured their opponents never recovered from there.
The maximum damage was done within the first 15 overs of the innings when Zimbabwe lost half their side with just 46 runs on the board.
Opener Brendan Taylor (44) put up some resistance and along with Greg Lamb added 40 runs for the sixth wicket, which helped Zimbabwe get past three figures.
Prosper Utseya, with a gritty knock of 36 managed to take the African nation past the 150-run mark.
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