Yusuf assault floors New Zealand

India A 305 for 8 (Yusuf 148) beat New Zealand A 224 (Marshall 51, Raina 4-23) by 81 runs
Scorecard

Barely 12 overs into the game, India A had lost half their side and hopes of a place in the final seemed a distant dream. New Zealand A may have even entertained thoughts of an early finish but, as it turned out, the entertainment was at their expense. Yusuf Pathan, walking in at No.7, repaired a broken innings with an assault that included nine sixes and propelled the Indians to 305 for 8. New Zealand fell short by 81 runs and conceded a bonus point which means they need a sizeable victory against Australia on Monday.

The surface at the MA Chidambaram Stadium favoured batting but New Zealand's sharp fielding and poor communication between India's batsmen resulted in three run-outs, leaving the hosts 66 for 5. It was in this disarray that Yusuf began his innings, and though he recieved valuable support from Rohit Sharma and brother Irfan, it was his 148 off 127 balls that proved to be the difference between the two sides.

Yusuf's innings was filled with positive intent. He looked aggressively for singles early on, played the ball into gaps, improvised when necessary, and pounded nearly every loose ball that came his way. The frontline bowlers had succeeded in checking the top-order but the spinners and back-up seamers failed to contain Yusuf and Rohit.

New Zealand's captain Peter Fulton tried to stem the flow of singles by bringing Brent Arnel back into the attack but Yusuf greeted the new-ball bowler with a straight drive for four. Offspinners Nathan McCullum and Jeetan Patel tried bowling a yorker length but Yusuf merely paddled those away. The shorter deliveries were dispatched square of the wicket on both sides and the fuller ones were hit straight.

Rohit fell after a workman-like 36, caught behind by Reece Young diving to his right. Irfan joined Yusuf and they didn't let the initiative slip, adding 59 at a run-a-ball. The spinners offered too many freebies: full tosses were clubbed for sixes, one full-blooded pull by Yusuf off Patel landed on the roof.

Fulton brought back Grant Elliott towards the end but the move proved costly. Yusuf began the over on 95 and, taking cue from Luke Ronchi, moved to 101 with a straight six. The next ball was driven past the bowler for four, and the pressure began to tell on the fielders when a skier was spilled at deep midwicket and rolled towards the boundary. He made room and scooped the next ball to extra cover before carting him into the stands at deep midwicket, making it 25 for the over.

Mark Gillespie was punished in the final overs, and his no-balls didn't do his team any favours. Neil Broom dismissed Yusuf off the final ball of the match as he miscued a loft to McCullum at long-on.

Though the New Zealand top order didn't suffer the Indians' fate, their batsmen failed to convert their starts. Aaron Redmond and BJ Watling began steadily but both fell trying to carve the ball over the packed off side. Fulton found Dhawal Kulkarni's gentle pace to his liking and hit him for a couple of boundaries during a breezy 42 off 39 balls before he was stumped down the leg side off Piyush Chawla.

James Marshall pushed the singles initially before taking the attack to the spinners. He slogged Chawla for a massive six over midwicket, and improvised against Yusuf's fast offbreaks, playing the reverse-sweep and the conventional sweep. His 71-run partnership with Neil Broom was the only passage of play in which New Zealand challenged the home side. That was to be the only substantial partnership in the chase as Suresh Raina ran through the lower order with four wickets. With the run-rate climbing, India had the match wrapped up well before Patel top-edged Chawla to Raina at mid-on in the 46th over.

With the bonus point, India move to the top of the table with nine points.