India On to the lead again as usual, these days!!

India eased to a comfortable 53-run victory [by Duckworth-Lewis] in a match twice interrupted by rain.

India piled up a mammoth 273 for 4 from their 38 overs and then reduced New Zealand to 111 for 4 before further rain left them the near-impossible task of scoring 105 from 43 balls. Harbhajan Singh then picked up three wickets in four balls as the match fizzled out and apart from Martin Guptill's accomplished 64, there was little for New Zealand to take from McLean Park.

Sehwag had started the day with a clutch off fours off the wayward Mills, but the players were back inside the dressing rooms within 20 minutes as the rain came down. By the time the game resumed, 24 overs in total had been lost, and India's sense of urgency was apparent. Sachin Tendulkar pulled Iain O'Brien for four, and then guided Mills through the vacant slip position, while Sehwag cut a six over point.

After a small mid-innings wobble, Raina and Dhoni added 110 from just 12.2 overs to wrest the initiative. Daniel Vettori had brought about a lull in the proceedings after Ross Taylor's stunning catch to send back Sehwag, but once 40 came from the three overs of the batting Powerplay, there was no holding the Indians back.

New Zealand never got the stroke-filled start that they needed. Zaheer Khan commenced with a maiden over, but it was Praveen Kumar who struck the crucial blow early on, having McCullum caught off the top edge at deep fine-leg. Jesse Ryder thumped him down to long-off for a four, but another attempted heave only found Sehwag inside the circle.
Only 23 runs came from the first eight overs of the Powerplay, but Taylor and Guptill then broke free with some attractive strokes. Taylor cut Munaf Patel for four, while Guptill lofted the ball sweetly down to the long-on boundary. With singles and twos being taken cleverly, the Indians were briefly rattled.

Taylor greeted Yusuf with a cut for four behind point, but a miscued slog-sweep only found Sachin Tendulkar at short fine-leg. Guptill continued to work the ball around cleverly, but with the fours drying up, the game began to drift away. And the pressure eventually told when sehwag's throw from the deep found Elliott just short of his ground while going for a second run.
The rain then returned, and with 10 overs lopped off the innings, there was only time for New Zealand to go down swinging. Jacob Oram was caught behind off Yuvraj and Neil Broom stumped off Harbhajan. Guptill's resistance then ended with a fine catch by Gautam Gambhir at deep midwicket. Vettori ensured that his team wouldn't be bowled out, but that was little consolation on a day when New Zealand were second-best by a distance.