Dambulla, Aug. 25: India came roaring back into contention with a clinical 105-run win over New Zealand in the final league game of the tri-series here on Wednesday. After Virender Sehwag had put the Indians on their way with yet another assault of astonishing brilliance, the medium pacers did his display full justice with some sustained swing bowling to winkle the Kiwis out with 19.5 overs to spare.

India will play Sri Lanka in the final Sehwag (110, 93b, 16x4, 1x6) carried India to 223 before the Black Caps were shot out for 118, thanks largely to Kyle Mills’ belligerent 52 (35b, 7x4, 3x6).

Every Indian bowler found himself in the wickets column too to round off a good day for Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s men, especially after their disappointing display against Sri Lanka three days ago.

On a surface where most batsmen struggled for rhythm, Sehwag blazed to his 13th ODI hundred with consummate ease. His last-minute adjustments were a sight for the gods and many of his 14 boundaries left the fielding side flabbergasted.

Playing the additional seamer paid rich dividends for the Men in Blue. Praveen Kumar continued his impressive form picking up three wickets for 15 runs in his first spell of six overs. New Zealand lost four wickets inside ten overs and there was never really any contest from there.

Munaf Patel, Ishant Sharma and Ashish Nehra kept the pressure on the batsmen by operating in the right areas. The only problem area was the number of wides bowled.

Only two top-order batsmen reached double figures as the Indian attack exercised complete control. Mills used the long handle to help his side surpass their lowest score in ODIs. Confusion prevailed over when the batting power play was taken, the umpires had to intervene to help play recommence after a brief hold up.

India started poorly with the bat, Dinesh Karthik disappointing yet again. Sehwag though was undisturbed by happenings at the other end and crashed five boundaries off Mills in two overs. Virat Kohli, replacing Rohit Sharma began confidently but did not last long nicking an outswinger from Tim Southee who went on to add three more scalps.

There were three maidens in the first eight overs as the Indians struggled to rotate strike. Yuvraj Singh managed one run off his first 13 deliveries. A well-struck cover drive was all the southpaw could manage before he picked the wrong line to pull. Suresh Raina failed to provide any resistance as India were in trouble at 66/4.

With consolidation rather than the run-rate being the priority, Dhoni played a holding role to perfection as Sehwag cut loose. A barrage of boundaries flying in all directions was the result and his domination was complete.

A change of ends for Southee and the introduction of Styris eased the pressure. Dhoni got two boundaries off Styris to get a move on. Taylor missed a trick by operating with slow medium and spin. A bowler with air speed at the start of Dhoni’s innings would have been a more attacking option. Sehwag continued to toy with the attack.

Scoreboard

India
Karthik c Hopkins b Mills 0
Sehwag c Watling b McCullum 110
Kohli c Hopkins b Southee 8
Yuvraj c Hopkins b McKay 6
Raina c Williamson b Southee 1
Dhoni c Hopkins b McCullum 38
Jadeja c Taylor b Southee 17
Praveen c Mills b Southee 6
Nehra c and b McCullum 0
Ishant not out 8
Patel c McKay b Mills 7
Extras (b1, lb5, nb2, w14) 22
Total (in 46.3 overs) 223
FoW: 1-0, 2-27, 3-61, 4-66, 5-173, 6-199, 7-199, 8-207, 9-207, 10-223
Bowling: Mills 8.3-1-42-2 (nb2, w1), Southee 10-2-49-4 (w2), McKay 8-1-31-1 (w4), Styris 6-0-37-0 (w2), McCullum 10-0-35-3 (w2), Williamson 4-0-23-0 (w3).

New Zealand
Watling b Nehra 2
Guptill lbw b Praveen 0
Taylor c Dhoni b Praveen 8
Elliott lbw b Patel 11
Styris b Praveen 1
Williamson b Ishant 13
Hopkins lbw b Patel 0
McCullum c Karthik b Patel 5
Mills c Praveen b Nehra 52
Southee c Praveen b Jadeja 10
McKay not out 3
Extras (lb5, w8) 13
Total (in 30.1 overs) 118
FoW: 1-1, 2-6, 3-14, 4-22, 5-41, 6-42, 7-52, 8-53, 9-80, 10-118
Bowling: Praveen 8-2-34-3 (w2), Nehra 6.1-1-10-2 (w3), Patel 7-1-21-3 (w3), Ishant 6-1-27-1, Jadeja 3-0-21-1