SEHWAG AND SEAMERS CHARGE INDIA INTO FINAL

After electing to bat, India were in early trouble at 66/4 but a timely century by Sehwag followed by a lovely seam display from the bowlers took India into yet another final against familiar foes Sri Lanka.

The top order failed yet again as they got out to single digits, as India managed 53/2 in the Quick Start Overs, followed by 28/2 in Powerplay 2. Sehwag stood tall as wickets kept crumbling around him and added a match-winning 107 for the fifth wicket with skipper Dhoni. However, the batting crumbled once Sehwag departed and India folded up for 223 inside the 47th Over. Sehwag scored an entertaining 110 of 93 balls with 16 fours and a six, finishing with a Batting Momentum of 174 while Tim Southee took 4/41, earning a Bowling Efficiency of 245 well supported by McCullum’s 3/35, ending up with an Efficiency of 257.

The Kiwis lost Guptill second ball and the innings never recovered, as they were reduced to 24/4 in the Quick Start overs, followed by just 16/0 in Powerplay 2. Their innings had a similar fate to that of India’s but they did not have a Sehwag nor could they get a partnership going. Towards the end, Kyle Mills played a quickfire knock of 52 from 35 balls with 7 fours and 3 sixes, ending up with a Batting Momentum of 98 while the Indian seamers had a good outing, with Praveen Kumar and  Munaf Patel picking up 3 wickets each while Nehra earned a Bowling Efficiency of 370 for his 2/10.

INDIA ended on a better Castrol Index of 167 as compared to New Zealand’s 114 but the Kiwis did better than their opponents in Powerplay 2 and the Extreme Performance Overs. VIRENDER SEHWAG was named the MAN-OF-THE-MATCH for his 110, finishing on an overall Castrol Index of 225, but the top performer of the day was ASHISH NEHRA, who got an overall Index of 367 while Nathan McCullum topped with 276 for the Kiwis. INDIA now meet SRI LANKA in the final of the tri-series on Saturday, 28th of August, 2010 at 0900 GMT at this same venue.