The pace pack, led by Praveen Kumar, was destructive after Virender Sehwag's astonishing counter-attacking 93-ball 110 orchestrated a timely Indian recovery at the Rangiri Stadium, here, on Wednesday.
Pursuing 224, New Zealand was bundled out for 118 in the last league match of the Micromax ODI tri-series. India will meet Sri Lanka for the title on Saturday.
The turning point of the contest was the 107-run fifth-wicket partnership between a rampant Sehwag and a determined Mahendra Singh Dhoni (38) after the side was reeling at 66 for four.
Then, the Indian pacemen were on the ball under the lights on a new track. The Kiwi chase was rocked early.
With the breeze assisting him, Praveen Kumar got his deliveries to swing. He is a slippery bowler with a quick-arm action. Praveen is also someone who uses his wrist particularly well. He moved the ball away, brought his deliveries in and straightened the odd one. Crucially, he bowled in the right areas.
The New Zealand batsmen were unable to pick Praveen's snappy release. Martin Guptill played for swing but the delivery straightened. Key man Ross Taylor nicked a lovely outswinger and 'keeper Dhoni held a smart diving catch. Scott Styris attempted a loose drive through the off-side and dragged the ball on to his stumps.
The pacemen – India selected an additional seamer in Munaf Patel - were buzzing from both the ends. There was no respite for the Kiwis. Left-armer Aashish Nehra swung one into Bradley Watling to consume the opener. Ishant Sharma's off-cutter terminated Kane Williamson's innings. And Munaf, seaming the ball in sharply, enjoyed his first outing in the series. Despite a brave 35-ball 52 from Kyle Mills – he unleashed some stunning flat-batted hits – there was no comebacks for the Kiwis.
In the first half of the contest, Sehwag held centre-stage with his 13th ODI hundred.
The ease with which Sehwag executed his strokes, even as wickets fell at the other end, underlined his exceptional ability. There were two duels in the middle - 1. New Zealand versus Sehwag 2. The Kiwis against the other Indian batsmen.
The intrepid right-hander displayed his complete repertoire. For someone with limited footwork, Sehwag is remarkably balanced. Importantly, his head is still as he ventures into a shot. His movement forward is essentially a half stride but Sehwag can still pull off strokes with great fluency because of his bat-speed and reflexes. And he makes it appear so simple, picking the length in a jiffy.
While Sehwag played besides the line to thump the ball between point and cover, he also moved across to the off-stump to whip the ball through the leg-side field. He innovated and created. The Kiwi attack suffered. Kyle Mills was cut and slammed through covers for boundaries. Andy Mckay and Tim Southee were bludgeoned on both sides. Sehwag's straight six off off-spinner Nathan McCullum was much about poise and timing. His inside-out cover-drives off McCullum screamed for attention.
McCullum, however, held his nerve and continued flighting at Sehwag. The batsman, lured after his hundred, was held in the country. The off-spinner struck again when he got a delivery to straighten around off-stump, forcing an edge from Dhoni; 'keeper Hopkins held on to a sharp catch on second attempt.
Punching through covers and working the ball to the on-side in typical fashion, Dhoni batted well for his 38. India came apart in a rather spectacular fashion after the departure of the two senior cricketers. The left-handed Ravindra Jadeja – awkward in his response - was undone by a short-pitched delivery by Southee and soon India was 207 for nine. Once again India failed to last 50 overs.
The match was played on a new pitch. Nevertheless, Dhoni elected to bat. The New Zealand pace attack was without indisposed spearhead Daryl Tuffey and key all-rounder Jacob Oram, nursing a knee injury. New Zealand made early inroads. Dinesh Karthik, who needs to cover for the swing and play closer to his body, nicked an delivery that left him from Mills. Kohli nibbled at an away going delivery from Southee and paid the price; the replays indicated a snick. Yuvraj Singh was looking good until he, fatally, chose to pull a short-pitched delivery outside his off-stump from left-arm paceman Andy McKay.
Another left-hander, Suresh Raina, tried to pull a Southee delivery - too full in length for the stroke - and was picked up at short mid-wicket.
Then, came the turnaround.
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