India stripped off top ODI ranking
NZ lead series 2-0 after 20 run win in Hamilton.
Anderson belted 44 off 17 deliveries in a whirlwind attack after the match was reduced to 42 overs. PHOTO: AFP
HAMILTON:
India surrendered their world number one One-Day International (ODI) ranking Wednesday when they suffered a second successive defeat to New Zealand in a rain-abbreviated game in Hamilton.
India were 20 runs short of their Duckworth-Lewis (D/L) adjusted target of 297 when more rain ended the game with three balls remaining.
India’s second loss to the eighth ranked New Zealand saw them slip behind Australia on the world rankings.
A two-hour rain break during the Black Caps innings and big hitting by all-rounder Corey Anderson conspired to give India a daunting target which they threatened to reach until the loss of Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
When the skipper went for 56 in the 40th over, India were 257 for six and their tail end batsmen were unable to maintain the required run rate.
The hosts, sent in to bat first, made 271 for seven after rain reduced their innings to 42 overs.
Anderson was the central figure in a 101-run slogathon in the 8.4 overs after the rain break which, under the D/L system, saw India’s target scaled upwards to 297, one six from the leftie was spectacularly caught one-handed by a spectator who won a special $100K award.
They made a rocky start to their reply when Tim Southee removed Shikhar Dhawan (12) and followed with the dismissal of Rohit Sharma (20) to claim his 100th ODI wicket.
When Mitch McClenaghan removed Ajinkya Rahane for 36 to have India 127 for three they needed a further 170 off 18.2 overs.
With Virat Kohli and Dhoni at the crease it remained possible until Southee came back for his second spell and captured the prized wicket of Kohli for 78.
Suresh Raina plundered 35 off 22 balls, the hosts clawed back when Anderson removed Dhoni.
It started a collapse that saw four wickets fall for 18 runs as India’s run chase crumbled.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 23rd, 2014.
India surrendered their world number one One-Day International (ODI) ranking Wednesday when they suffered a second successive defeat to New Zealand in a rain-abbreviated game in Hamilton.
India were 20 runs short of their Duckworth-Lewis (D/L) adjusted target of 297 when more rain ended the game with three balls remaining.
India’s second loss to the eighth ranked New Zealand saw them slip behind Australia on the world rankings.
A two-hour rain break during the Black Caps innings and big hitting by all-rounder Corey Anderson conspired to give India a daunting target which they threatened to reach until the loss of Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
When the skipper went for 56 in the 40th over, India were 257 for six and their tail end batsmen were unable to maintain the required run rate.
The hosts, sent in to bat first, made 271 for seven after rain reduced their innings to 42 overs.
Anderson was the central figure in a 101-run slogathon in the 8.4 overs after the rain break which, under the D/L system, saw India’s target scaled upwards to 297, one six from the leftie was spectacularly caught one-handed by a spectator who won a special $100K award.
They made a rocky start to their reply when Tim Southee removed Shikhar Dhawan (12) and followed with the dismissal of Rohit Sharma (20) to claim his 100th ODI wicket.
When Mitch McClenaghan removed Ajinkya Rahane for 36 to have India 127 for three they needed a further 170 off 18.2 overs.
With Virat Kohli and Dhoni at the crease it remained possible until Southee came back for his second spell and captured the prized wicket of Kohli for 78.
Suresh Raina plundered 35 off 22 balls, the hosts clawed back when Anderson removed Dhoni.
It started a collapse that saw four wickets fall for 18 runs as India’s run chase crumbled.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 23rd, 2014.