Another brilliantly-paced run chase from India, who have now won their last 10 World Cup matches. Brendan Taylor’s brilliant 138 took Zimbabwe to a decent total, and for a while India looked like they might struggle to make it. Masakadza will have a few apologies to make in the losers’ dressing-room after that catastrophic, potentially decisive dropping of Raina. That’s it from me. Have a fabulous weekend. Here’s the match report. Bye!
Suresh Raina is the man of the match. “We lost too many wickets up front, but I thought the wicket was really good,” he says. “MS came in and we played really smart cricket and worked really well as a team. I knew, when the team needed me the most I needed to deliver. Me and MS, we’ve played a lot of matches together, finished a lot of matches together. Is it one of my best 100s? No. But it was very important for me, I’m very happy today.”Meanwhile in Hobart, Australia beat Scotland by seven wickets, the two matches ending almost simultaneously.
India win by six wickets!
48.4 overs: India 288-4 (Raina 110, Dhoni 85)
Dhoni wins the match for his team, the end of another near-faultless innings. The final shot sends a short ball ball flying high over the square leg boundary for six.
48th over: India 279-4 (Raina 109, Dhoni 77)
Dhoni! Dhoni! Dhoni! That’s the crowd’s cry as India home in on their target, with a little help from increasingly charitable opponents. Chatara’s over starts, unpromisingly, with a leg-side wide, and there’s another wide a little later. The rest of the runs come in ones (and a two), leaving India needing nine to win, from two overs.
47th over: India 271-4 (Raina 107, Dhoni 73)
Dropped! Raina spoons the ball to long-off, where the fielder scurries forward to reach the ball just before it bounces, but he can’t hold on to the tough low chance. A single having been taken, Dhoni hits the next high over cover and runs two, the one after that down the ground for six, and the fifth for four to square leg.46th over: India 256-4 (Raina 106, Dhoni 59)
Chatara bowls a slower bouncer, and Raina spots it and sends it to the fine leg boundary. Later Dhoni edges the ball, but it doesn’t carry to the keeper. Finally there’s a run-out chance as Dhoni takes a single off the last, but it required a direct-hit from third man to get rid of Raina, and it didn’t get one.
Indeed. We’ll always wonder what might have happened had that catch been held, but from that moment onwards (though this last over was a little dodgy in parts) this pair45th over: India 249-4 (Raina 101, Dhoni 56)
Raina touches Mupariwa’s first ball to fine leg for four, and a single off the next takes him to 100. An excellent innings, albeit one that should have ended in the 40s. “One could argue that the Indian line up is like for like with the English one in terms of talent,” suggests Krishnan Patel. “Dhawan (Ali), Sharma (Bell), Kohli (Taylor), Rahane (Root), Raina (Morgan), Jadeja (Bopara) and Dhoni (Buttler). However, the way they manage the chase is so different. England would have been 207 all out in this situation.” I think that’s a very generous assessment of England’s line-up, but in particular too few of those England players have enjoyed a settled run in a settled position in the side.
44th over: India 240-4 (Raina 95, Dhoni 55)
Zimbabwe’s decision to bring third man up has repeatedly cost them, and Raina helps himself to another boundary with a fine late nurdle that’s past the fielder before he knows it. Chatara’s fifth delivery is a no-ball, and anyway flicked to the boundary by Dhoni. India, masters of timing a run-chase, are
43rd over: India 227-4 (Raina 89, Dhoni 50)
Mupariwa bowls, and Raina cuts late and fine to third man for four. Dhoni, meanwhile, scores a couple of singles to bring up a 56-ball half-century. Raina edges the ball to deep midwicket and comes back for two, a slightly optimistic second run safely completed when the fielder sends in his throw so high that three wicket-keepers, each sitting on another’s shoulders in a great big pile of gloveman, wouldn’t have caught it.
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