India Wins First One-Day Against New Zealand: Sehwag, Dhoni, Raina and Bhajji

Truth be told, I could see the “I-don’t-know-what-to-do” look on Daniel Vettori’s face last night, at least three times.

The first time came when mighty Sehwag unleashed the true potential of his natural game early during the innings; the second time when Suresh Raina blazed through his 66 of just 39 deliveries, hitting four sixes and five fours; and the third time when the famous Harbhajan Singh took three wickets in one over, cleaning New Zealand’s tail end.

India comprehensively won the first one-day match at Napier against the Kiwis, after having lost two T20 games at the start of the tour. This will boost their confidence tremendously. Having said that, there is always a chance of being overconfident in the next game but Dhoni will surely handle it.

India won the toss and elected to bat. There were some concerns about that, but all is well that ends well. Since India won, it was a right decision.

Sehwag started the show with his trademark brutality, his natural game. This time he kept going for a longer time than usual. He gave India the start they wanted. Sachin tried his best, but it wasn’t his day. It wasn’t Yuvi’s day either.

Nevertheless, the show went on, although interrupted by rain for a brief time.

Dhoni delivered his clichéd captain’s knock, standing out there in the middle, like a pillar. His 84 was convincing. Interestingly, he came ahead of Yuvraj Singh.

More credit should be given to Suresh Raina for his heroics. His played a spectacular inning. At 22, Raina is rocking. It would be fair to say that he is a great find for India. After the game, Dhoni said that he played to the merit of the ball. Very well put MS!

We didn’t miss Gautam Gambhir in this game. Thanks to Sehwag, Raina and Dhoni and a below par bowling by New Zealand. Mr. Vettori admitted that at the end of the game.

Overall, this was a happy game to watch. It had all elements for a comprehensive victory. Priety Zinta was watching the game too!

A remarkable incident, worth mentioning here was stumping of NT Broom. Dhoni was at his best. He actually waited for the batsman to approach the crease, before he stumped Broom in a flash. Broom knew he was out, but he still tried reaching back, only to return to the pavilion. Such incidents are rare.

Last but not least, everyone tied the black bands on their arms for well known reasons.

New Zealand witnessed the potential of Indian team first hand. By no means should they underestimate their own potential, but they will have to try harder. As for this one, with Dhoni’s captains knock, exploits of mighty Sehwag, hard hitting by the rising Raina and spin by Harbhajan, Indians rose to the occasion.