Sachin Tendulkars 43rd one-day international century hoisted India to a 2-0 series lead over New Zealand with a 58-run victory in Christchurch on Sunday. Fall of wickets: 1-15 2-65 3-203 4-382
Exploiting the short boundaries at Lancaster Park, Tendulkar stroked his way to 163 before he was forced to retire hurt after apparently pulling a stomach muscle, though he managed to guide his side to an imposing 392 for four off 50 overs.
"Its a pleasure to watch Sachins innings in the way he paced it," India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said in a televised interview. "He took a balls up front then later on he knew what kind of shots he could play. Hes an amazing batsman."
New Zealand began their chase enthusiastically with openers Jesse Ryder and Brendon McCullum putting on 166 for the first wicket before Ryder called the stand-in captain through for a suicidal single in the 22nd over and McCullum was run out for 71.
Ryder moved to his first one day century, which included 12 boundaries and four sixes, before Ross Taylor absentmindedly left his ground and was run out for seven and Martin Guptill was trapped in front by Yuvraj Singh for one.
The home side slumped to 188 for four when Ryder holed out in the deep for 105, leaving the last recognised pairing of Grant Elliott and Jacob Oram at the crease. Oram, however, was bowled by Harbhajan for seven and Zaheer Khan bowled Elliott (18) and Peter McGlashan (seven) in three balls to effectively end the run chase in the 34th over.
Kyle Mills (54) Tim Southee (32) and Ian Butler (24) extracted some revenge on the Indians for their own treatment with some lusty blows at the end of the innings, with Mills and Southee combining for an 83-run ninth-wicket in seven overs.
The onslaught, however, was not enough and the hosts were bowled out for 334 on the first ball of the 46th over. Earlier, Tendulkar smashed 16 boundaries and five sixes and shared a brutal 138-run partnership with Yuvraj (87) and a 135-run stand with Dhoni (68) to help India post the highest one day score in New Zealand. "It was amazing batting," McCullum said. "The way Sachin played was outstanding and he got a lot of support from the senior players as well.
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Indian innings
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V. Sehwag b Mills 3
S. Tendulkar retired hurt 163
G. Gambhir c McGlashan b Butler 15
Y. Singh c McGlashan b Elliott 87
M. Dhoni c McGlashan b Mills 68
S. Raina not out 38
Y. Pathan not out 1
Extras: (lb-5, w-8, nb-4) 17
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Total: (for four wickets, 50 overs) 392
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Did not bat: Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Praveen Kumar, Munaf Patel.
Bowling: Mills 10-0-58-2 (nb-3), Southee 10-0-105-0 (w-2), Butler 5-0-37-1 (w-2), Oram 8-1-34-0 (w-1), Patel 5-0-37-0,
Ryder 5-0-56-0 (nb-1), Elliott 7-0-60-1 (w-1)
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New Zealand innings
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J. Ryder c Zaheer b Harbhajan 105
B. McCullum run out 71
R. Taylor run out 7
M. Guptill lbw Yuvraj 1
G. Elliott b Zaheer 18
J. Oram b Harbhajan 7
P. McGlashan b Zaheer 7
I. Butler b Yuvraj 24
K. Mills c Zaheer b Yusuf 54
T. Southee c&b Kumar 32
J. Patel not out 0
Extras: (lb-2 w-4 nb-2) 8
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Total: (all out, 45.1 overs) 334
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Fall of wickets: 1-166 2-179 3-182 4-188 5-203 6-217 7-218 8-251 9-334 10-334
Bowling: Zaheer 9-0-65-2 (w-1), Kumar 8.1-0-60-1 (w-1), Munaf 7.2-0-79-0 (nb-2, w-1), Yuvraj 10-0-71-2 (w-1), Harbhajan 10-0-56-2, Yusuf 0.4-0-1-1
Result: India won by 58 runs
SERIES: India lead five match series 2-0.
Man of the match: Sachin Tendulkar
Next match: 4th ODI, Seddon Park, Hamilton, March 11.