Hapless New Zealand swept away again

The Bulletin by Siddhartha Talya

December 10, 2010

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India 107 for 2 (Parthiv 56, Yuvraj 42) beat New Zealand 103 (Styris 24, Ashwin, 3-24, Yuvraj 2-5, Nehra 2-34) by eight wickets
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

	Only Brendon McCullum showed any intent, but Ashish Nehra nipped him out before he could inflict serious damage © AFP Enlarge
Related Links Players/Officials: Ravichandran Ashwin | Yuvraj Singh Matches: India v New Zealand at Chennai Series/Tournaments: New Zealand tour of India [Nov 2010] Teams: India | New Zealand

New Zealand were at the receiving end of another humiliation as a hapless batting performance led to their lowest score against India and sealed a 0-5 whitewash. On a dry pitch susceptible to the influence of the overcast weather, New Zealand were keen to make the most of initially favourable batting conditions. But their edginess against pace at the start of the innings, and capitulation to spin later on, ensured their misery in ODIs continued.

The pitch offered limited assistance to the bowlers and was not responsible for the domination that India showed; New Zealand's inability to survive perhaps was. The seamers were crafty enough to make use of the hint of swing and movement available early on, the spinners, led by R Ashwin, varied their lengths, pace and worked the angles well to prove more than a handful against the middle and lower orders.

Praveen Kumar's control and Ashish Nehra's quick recovery from a Brendon McCullum onslaught in his first over set up India. Praveen earned his prize straight away, beginning with three straight-ish deliveries before getting one to nip away and prompt a fatal poke from Martin Guptill. Nehra had a contrasting start, struggling for line and length, dragging one short to be dispatched over square leg and providing width to be slammed through the off side for two boundaries. McCullum's aggressive posture, characterized by his advances down the wicket as well as moving well across to look for scoring opportunities, promised an entertaining counterattack. It caused his downfall instead, as he shuffled across to Nehra and was done in by the inswing to be caught on the pads, leaving New Zealand 14 for 2.

Smart stats This is the second time India have won an ODI series 5-0. The only previous instance was against England in 2008-09, when a seven-match series was curtailed to five due to the terrorist attack in Mumbai. India won each of those five games. For New Zealand, it was their fourth 5-0 drubbing in a five-match series. Three of those four series defeats have happened since 2003. New Zealand's total of 103 is their lowest in a completed innings against India. It's their second-lowestin India - they'd scored six runs fewer against Australia in Faridabad in 2003. India won with 173 balls to spare, which is their fourth-highest in all ODIs and their best against New Zealand. For the visitors too, it's the fourth-heaviest defeat in terms