All star of the match

Stylish Styris sets up thumping win

10-Aug-2010
Scott Styris set up the win with a counterattacking innings  •  AFP

Scott Styris set up the win with a counterattacking innings  •  AFP

Scott Styris played a major role in resurrecting New Zealand after the Indian seamers reduced them to 28 for 3. Along with his captain Ross Taylor, Styris added 190 and throughout the stand they played to a plan. They had identified around 260 as a defendable score, and were keen to not over-reach. Coming together with the innings in tatters, Styris weatherd the storm against the new ball before shifting gears.
In the 16th over, he cracked Abhimanyu Mithun through point to get started. He announced his intentions against Pragyan Ojha, lofting him over mid on and then cutting square for boundaries as things began to look up in the 23rd over. The tide had turned and once Styris reached his fifty New Zealand took the batting Powerplay in the 31st over.
Styris chipped Ravindra Jadeja over the top and latched on to the over-compensation in length by cutting him square for fours. Both batsmen read Ojha's flight to pick fours in the 33rd as India began to feel the heat. Dhoni was forced to bring his seamers back but there was no respite: Styris creamed Nehra over point and down the ground, while Praveen bled runs at the other end as 43 runs came the five-over block. The force was clearly with New Zealand, and Styris drilled home the advantage by launching Ojha straight for a six before he was dismissed. New Zealand however were on course for a big score and an easy win.