India v New Zealand ODI series: http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750 wins home series
India beat New Zealand by nine wickets in the third match of the five-match ODI series between the two countries, which took place today in Vadodara, India.
The pitch report indicated that whoever won the toss should decide to bowl first – and when Indian skipper http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Gautam-Gambhir-c58623 won the toss, that was just what he did, with a smile on his face. With New Zealand in to bat, conditions
perfect for bowling, and India’s ace left-arm pacer Zaheer http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Khan-c71319 back in the team after recovering from a groin injury, India seemed to have everything it could hope for from the very start of the match.
For the visiting Kiwis, it was the beginning of another dreadful day. They started their innings facing Zaheer Khan and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Ashish-Nehra-c46293 bowling in full flow. New Zealand were hoping that their main strike batsmen Brendon McCullum
would repeat his Indian Premier League opening performance, but their hopes were stopped short by returning Zaheer Khan. Khan removed McCullum for a duck on the first delivery that he faced. Martin Guptill, the other opening batsman, lost his wicket to a run-out
when skipper Gambhir once again proved that he is one of the best fielders in the Indian side. Munaf Patel replaced Nehra from the other end and was in a deadly mood. His deliveries swung well and were bang on target. He only got one wicket in his 10-over
spell but caused a lot of trouble for the Kiwi batsmen as they found his deliveries very hard to face. He finished with an impressive 1-28 in 10 overs.
The heroics of James Franklin and Nathan McCullum helped http://www.senore.com/Cricket/New-Zealand-c754 to a decent total. Franklin played a very cautious innings and was there till the end, at 72 not out and having hit five fours and one six. He was well supported
by McCullum, and the pair added 94 runs to the total. McCullum fell to http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Ravichandran-Ashwin-c84208, after scoring 43 runs, including four boundaries.
New Zealand managed to score 224 for the loss of nine wickets in the allotted 50 overs. Zaheer, Ashwin and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Irfan-Pathan-c1601 were the pick of the bowlers with a couple of wickets each.
For India, it was like a walk in the park when they started the chase. Gambhir was building up on his form from the previous match and was in a lethal touch. He treated the New Zealand bowling attack with no respect, and is now
the eighth captain ever to score back-to-back centuries. http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Virat-Kohli-c95424, who scored a solid
63. Together the pair took their side to the target with ease. India reached the target in the 40th over and won by 9 wickets. Gautham Gambhir was the Man of the Match due to his knock of 126 not out. India now leads the series 3-0.
This match was New Zealand’s ninth consecutive ODI defeat. Although they have now lost the series, the men in black will have to work very hard to get back in form and avoid a series whitewash.
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