India Innings
India picked up a cakewalk victory in the fifth and final ODI after New Zealand got bundled out for a paltry 103 to clinch a cleansweep 5-0 Series win! The hosts initially had to battle it out against the turning ball from Nathan McCullum and Daniel Vettori but the target was just too low for an upset defeat. Parthiv Patel led the chase with an unbeaten 2nd ODI fifty while Yuvraj Singh scored a confident boosting unbeaten 42 from 46 balls with 6 fours and 2 sixes. Parthiv Patel helped himself to 56* from 70 balls with 6 fours and a six. It was a job to do for Parthiv and Yuvraj as they got together when India were under some kind of pressure at 10 for 2.
New Zealand like India got a wicket in the very first over though it was through a bad Umpiring decision. Gautam Gambhir for a change was out for a duck when he was given caught behind in an attempted cut off Nathan McCullum. Virat Kohli also got out cheaply but he got an unplayable delivery from Vettori around middle which kicked up and turned away to force an edge to first slip. After these two wickets, India got some boundaries flowing in from Parthiv and Yuvraj to rule out any possible Kiwi victory. The two left handers added up an unbroken stand of 97 to take India home to an easy win in the 22nd over.
Yuvraj Singh picked up the Man of the Match for his all-round efforts while India’s Skipper for this 5-match assignment – Gautam Gambhir got the Player of the Series award.
New Zealand Innings
There was a disastrous start for the Kiwis when Martin Guptill poked at a Praveen Kumar outswinger in the fourth ball of the match. New Zealand then lost two big wickets in Brendon McCullum and Ross Taylor to be pegged back in the game at 28 for 3 in the 6th over. The big wicket of Brendon McCullum fell when he had shuffled far too across on the backfoot to get hit on the pad by an Ashish Nehra inswinger. Ross Taylor was removed by Nehra as well after gloving a pull shot down the legside.
New Zealand seemed to be going through a repair job when Styris joined Jamie How but the latter departed after getting clean bowled trying to whip an arm ball from Yuvraj Singh right across the line. How scored 23 before getting out in the 18th over with New Zealand at 71 for 4. Within an over, Styris departed getting lbw to Ashwin as he missed a sweep to a carom ball. In the next over, Grant Elliott was gone for a duck, given lbw after playing along the wrong line to a Yuvraj Singh slider.
Yusuf Pathan, the third spinner to be used by Gambhir joined the party as well taking the next two wickets – Vettori forced to edge to slip off a turning and bouncing off break and Nathan McCullum wrongly given caught at slip off the forearm in an attempted sweep.
Ashwin finished the Kiwi innings by removing Kyle Mills (spooned a carrom ball to covers) and Southee who got an inside edge to a top spinner to short leg in the space of three balls in the 27th over.
Toss and Teams
New Zealand have won the toss and elected to bat first in the fifth and final ODI at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. Conditions are overcast and there is a threat of possible showers later in the day. Both sides have made one change each in their line-ups. New Zealand have brought back Grant Elliott in place of Andy McKay while India have rested Zaheer Khan and brought in Munaf Patel.
New Zealand have a lot to do today if they have to stop India from whitewashing them from a 0-5 defeat. The pitch at Chepauk is on the drier side and its expected to take turn as the game progresses. With conditions being cloudy, the new ball could swing around.
New Zealand : BB McCullum, MJ Guptill, JM How, LRPL Taylor, SB Styris, GD Elliott, JEC Franklin, DL Vettori, NL McCullum, KD Mills and TG Southee
India : G Gambhir, PA Patel, V Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, RG Sharma, YK Pathan, SS Tiwary, R Ashwin, A Nehra, PS Kumar and MM Patel
- B.V.Swagath
