Press Trust of India
Hamilton, March 10: Thirty years ago March 10 went into the annals of India’s cricket history forever. It was the day, when India lifted the Benson & Hedges Trophy – their second major victory in an ODI tournament. But during that memorable march to the title, Sunil Gavaskar’s men failed to achieve what MS Dhoni’s devils did in the 2015 edition of the World Cup – that of bowling out the opposition in five consecutive matches in a 50-over game.
In 1985, India had dismissed Pakistan, England, Australia, New Zealand (semifinal) within the quota of 50 overs. However, in the final, which the Aussie crowd had termed ‘battle between the bus drivers and tram conductors’ (little did they know then that one day their board would have to depend on BCCI for revenue benefits), Pakistan lost nine wickets and India missed out on the feat by a whisker.
But Tuesday, India did that in style while romping to an eight-wicket victory over Ireland and in the process ensuring their position at the top of Pool B. It was a professional display by India at Seddon Park here and never for a moment, was there any doubt or anxiety as the players went about their job in a cool and calculated manner.
Even though he did not bat – it was Dhoni’s day. As a leader he chalked up his ninth consecutive victory in the World Cup, eclipsing the eight on the trot achieved by Sourav Ganguly during the 2003 World Cup. A feat that the former India captain lauded and said: “There can be no doubt that Dhoni is the best leader that India have ever had in the shorter version of the game.”
Coming back to the game Shikhar Dhawan (100, 85b, 11×4, 5×6) cracked his second century in the World Cup as India chased down the target with more than 13 overs to spare. He was ably aided by Rohit Sharma (64, 66b, 3×4, 3×6) and the two put on 174 runs at the start to fashion an emphatic win for the defending champions. After their departure Virat Kohli (44 n o, 42b, 4×4, 1×6) and Ajinkya Rahane (33 n o, 28b, 6×4) completed the job without fuss.
Earlier in the day William Porterfield (67, 93b, 5×4, 1×6) and Paul Stirling (42, 41b, 4×4, 2×6) put on a very good opening stand of 89 before the latter holed out to Rahane at long-off off Ravi Ashwin.
At that point of time it looked like Ireland would cruise to the 300-run mark. But Dhoni brought part-time bowler Suresh Raina into the attack and it paid rich results. Not only did Raina restrict runs, he also picked up the vital wicket of Ed Joyce clean bowling the batsman with a ball that was too full to cut.
The Ireland innings then never took off and they managed to cross the 250-run mark due to the efforts of Niall O’ Brien (75, 75b, 7×4, 3×6). Mohammed Shami (3/41) once more showed his skills wrecking the Irish middle order with two quick wickets including that of Niall who was caught at square-leg by Umesh Yadav. With him ended Irish hopes.
