Suresh Raina's ton bails India out of trouble against Zimbabwe
Suresh Raina's unbeaten 110 from 104 balls helped bail India out of trouble to beat a resolute Zimbabwean outfit by six wickets in their last world Cup 2015 Group B match played in Auckland on Saturday.
MS Dhoni won the toss and opted to bowl first and India were amongst the wickets early, as Zimbabwe lost their top-three batsmen for 33 in eleven overs. Captain Brendan Taylor then combined forces with Sean Williams for a 93-run stand for the fourth wicket
Taylor, who signed a three-year Kolpak deal with Nottinghamshire, was playing his last match in Zimbabwean colours. He ensured he made his last outing count and clobbered India's attack, especially R Ashwin, to all corners.
He reached his hundred off 99 balls, in the 39th over, with a six over long-on. It was his eighth hundred and he overtook Alastair Campbell for the most number of hundreds scored by a Zimbabwean. The onslaught from Taylor, Sikandar Raza and Sean Irvine helped Zimbabwe post an impressive 287 in their innings.
Tinashe Panyangara took the new ball for Zimbabwe and dismissed India's openers, Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma, in the first seven overs. Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Ranahe added 50 for the third wicket, but then Rahane was run out in the 17th over and Kohli followed five-overs later.
Their departure brought Raina and Dhoni together. The duo began slowly and looked to consolidate the innings. Raina was the more aggressive of the two and looked to find the boundary regularly, as Dhoni looked for singles.
The Dhoni-Raina combine added 196 runs for the fifth wicket. Raina hit nine fours and four sixes in his 110 and he along with Dhoni kept their side's winning-record in tact through the group stages of the World Cup.
"I am glad the hard work came off. I thought the wicket was really good, and if ever I got the ball I can go after, then I would go after it. Once MS came, it certainly helped as well," Raina said. "When the team needed me the most, I just wanted to be positive and smart, especially in the Powerplays. Glad we were able to do it really well in the end. MS and I have played a lot of matches together, and have finished a lot of matches together. MS told me that I just can't smash every ball, but he did back my strengths on the field. (When asked if this was his most important ton?) It is a very important award to me, to add to my Man of the Match award from the U-19 World Cup as well."