India crush kiwis by eight wickets to sweep series 5-0

CHENNAI - An all-round show helped India beat New Zealand by eight wickets in the fifth and final cricket one-dayer played at Chennai’s M A Chidambaram Stadium on Friday to complete a 5-0 series whitewash.

New Zealand, who chose to bat first, were at the receiving end of another humiliation as Indian bowlers came up with a disciplined effort to bundle out New Zealand for 103 in just 27 overs, the lowest total for the Kiwis against India in ODIs.

Chasing a meagre 104 for a win, stand-in-skipper Gautam Gambhir (0) and Virat Kohli (2) gave away their wickets very early, but wicket keeper Parthiv Patel carried on his form and remained unbeaten on 56 to guide his side home. He was well assisted by Yuvraj Singh (42 not out), as they achieved the target with 28.5 overs to spare at the M A Chidambaram Stadium.

Patel struck the winning runs, as India reached 107 for two in 21.1 overs to rout the kiwis and sweep the series in the absence of senior players Sachin Tendulkar, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Virender Sehwag and Harbhajan Singh.

he Indian bowlers put up an impressive show earlier managing to get the New Zealand side all-out for a paltry score of 103.

Off-spinner R Ashwin continued to impress with figures of three for 24 while pacer Ashish (2/34), Yuvraj Singh (2/5) and Yusuf Pathan (2/11) claimed two wickets each to destroy the New Zealand batting attack.

New Zealand’s 103 is the lowest by a team against India and also the lowest in the ground after Zimbabwe’s 139 against Australia on October 30, 1987.

Yuvraj Singh was announced the man of the match, while Gambhir was awarded with the man of the series trophy.

Brief Scores:

New Zealand: 103 all out in 27 overs (Scott Styris 24, Jamie How 23; Ravichandran Ashwin 3/24).

India: Win by 8 wickets (Parthiv Patel 56, Yuvraj Singh 42; Nathan McCullum 1, Daniel Vettori 1) (ANI)