Pathan powers India to win

Yusuf Pathan's maiden ODI century gave India their fourth straight win over New Zealand in a high-scoring affair in Bangalore.

Pathan finished on 122 not out as India chased down a target of 316 with seven balls to spare for a five-wicket triumph.

He shared an unbroken sixth-wicket partnership of 133 with Saurabh Tiwary (37no), who clinched the victory in style with a six off Nathan McCullum.

India lead the five-match series 4-0 and have the chance to complete a whitewash in Chennai on Friday.

Trouble

Pathan had walked out to the middle with India in trouble on 108-4 in the 20th over, left-arm paceman Andy McKay and off-spinner McCullum having taken two wickets each for the tourists.

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India crush New Zealand by 9 wickets, clinch series

Gautam Gambhir celebrates his century

Indian team led by Gautam Gambhir displayed a splendid performance and managed to beat New Zealand  in a 9-wicket win in the third ODI and seal the five-match ODI series 3-0 at Vadodara today.

Earlier, James Franklin led New Zealand's revival with a fighting unbeaten half-century as the visitors recovered from a poor start to post 224 for 9.

Down 0-2 and faced with a must-win situation, the visitors made a shocking start by losing their openers within the first five overs and were struggling at 106 for seven before Franklin (72 not out) and Nathan McCullum repaired the innings with a stand of 94.

The left-handed Franklin batted sensibly after coming in at 49 for 4 in the 16th over even as continued to tumble from the the other end.

He top-scored for the Black Caps with the help of five fours and one six in 108 balls while McCullum made 43 in 53 balls with four fours.

Their eighth-wicket stand off 107 balls took the score to 200 after the Kiwis had lost half their side for 77.
Apart from the eighth wicket pair, only opener Martin Guptill (12) and Scott Styris (22) reached the double figures in a largely uninspiring display put up by the Kiwis after they were asked to bat first by the hosts.
For India, Zaheer Khan (2/31), Yusuf Pathan (2/37 and R Ashwin (2/49) shared six wickets among them while Munaf Patel chipped in with one scalp.

The pitch for the match was a major surprise at a venue that normally provides flat tracks. There was a lot of bounce for the pace bowlers and bounce and turn for the spinners.

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India crush New Zealand to win Test series

India finally underlined their status as the world's top ranked Test nation when they crushed New Zealand by a huge margin of an innings and 198 runs to win the three-match series, on day four of the third and final Test at the Vidarbha Cricket Association stadium in Jamtha, Nagpur on Tuesday.

New Zealand were bowled out for 175 in 51.2 overs in their second innings to lose with nearly five sessions left in the match.

This is India's third largest victory margin in terms of an innings victory, after the innings and 239 runs victory against Bangladesh in May 2007 and the innings and 219 runs win over Australia in March 1998.

Ishant Sharma claimed two wickets in a row to finish off things in style when he bowled Tim Southee (31) and Chris Martin to wrap up a comprehensive victory for the hosts. The Indian spinners also made most of the conditions with Harbhajan Singh taking three for 56 in 19 overs, Pragyan Ojha claiming two for 67 and Suresh Raina taking two quick wickets (2 for 1).

India had declared their first innings on a mammoth 566 for eight after New Zealand were bundled out for 193, to take a huge first innings lead of 373 runs.

Harbhajan SinghRahul Dravid played a patient knock of 191 to set up India's huge score, while captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (98) fell agonizingly short of his hundred put Indian in complete control of the series decider.

Dravid's marathon knock stretched 573 minutes as he hit 21 boundaries in 396 balls, before he holed out at long-on off part-time spinner Kane Williamson. Dhoni and Dravid played a huge role in stretching India's lead as the duo added 193 runs in 54.3 overs for the sixth wicket. Dhoni, who was struggling with cramps, was caught and bowled by Daniel Vettori for 98, laced with 12 fours and a six in his 156-ball knock.

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