World Cup 2011: Warm-up match India beat New Zealand by 117 Runs

ICC World Cup 2011 India vs NewZealand(Ind vs NZ) warm-up match saw India getting the upper hand, as they posted a mammoth 360 runs for the loss of just 5 wickets in the stipulated 50 overs. In reply, the Kiwis got all out for just 243 runs in 43.1 overs. India thus won the match convincingly by 117 runs. The Indians will go into the World Cup with their heads held high and would hope to repeat the same performance when they meet Bangladesh in the tournament opener on 19th of February, 2011.

Earlier in the day, Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni won the toss and elected to bat first in the final warm-up match being played at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag failed to give India a good start and were out cheaply. But Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli steadied the innings with two steady half-centuries before MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina put up a firework of shots with a 56-ball 124-run partnership to end the Indian innings at 360 runs. Dhoni stayed unbeaten with a blizzardy 64-ball 108 runs( with 11 fours and 3 sixes), while Raina got out in the last ball of the 48th over with a 25-ball 50,that included 3 sixes and 4 boundaries.

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Posted in ICC Cricket World Cup 2011