JAIPUR: Gautam Gambhir's bowlers responded well to his call of bowling first, restricting New Zealand with smart, accurate bowling, and the captain reciprocated with a fluent 138 off 116 balls to make the chase look easy.
Gambhir, capping off a return to form that began with a struggling Test fifty in Hyderabad last month, never let his strike-rate come under 100 once he crossed the mark in the sixth over. He had for company an equally hungry Virat Kohli, who now has two centuries and a fifty in his last three international outings.
Dew, expected later in the evening, was the reason why India put New Zealand in on a cracking surface, but the towels were conspicuous by absence in the second half of the game. Which is what made the bowling effort special.
The pitch played slow and low, and India cut out the pace and the room. There was nothing spectacular done with the ball, just accurate, wicket to wicket bowling for most of the part. Martin Guptill and Scott Styris tried to take New Zealand towards a fighting total with important fifties, but India pulled the visitors back every time they threatened to break free.
New Zealand began with three boundaries in the first two overs, but Sreesanth's late swing removed Jamie How. Guptill and Kane Williamson looked solid but subdued in a 50-run stand for the second wicket. Those runs took 12.5 overs coming - all but seven of those deliveries in the Powerplay.
The duo did little to upset the bowlers' rhythm. Munaf Patel was allowed to hit the same spot again and again, with slight seam movement either way. One of those moved a bit more than expected, and found a way through Williamson's bat and pad, taking the top of off. The pressure showed when Ross Taylor went to hit Yusuf Pathan's first delivery for a six, but found deep midwicket. Read more
