CRICKET WORLD CUP:WORLD CUP favourites India sent out a strong warning to the other sides in the competition as they completed an 87-run victory over Bangladesh in the opening match in Dhaka on Saturday.
Virender Sehwag’s swashbuckling 175 and Virat Kohli’s unbeaten century set up India’s victory and avenged their loss to the Tigers in the 2007 World Cup.
Sehwag’s 140-ball innings, studded with five sixes and 14 fours, and his 203-run stand for the third wicket with Kohli (100 not out) helped India notch up 370 for four, which eventually proved beyond the reach of the home team.
Opener Tamim Iqbal (70) and skipper Shakib Al Hasan (55) attempted to keep the chase afloat but India’s bowlers, led by Munaf Patel (four for 48), put the brakes as the Tigers finished at 283 for nine.
Sehwag savoured taking revenge on Bangladesh. “I have said this is a revenge game and we have won it,” the 32-year-old said.
“I have said earlier also that Bangladesh are not good in Tests, but they can compete in ODIs. I was looking to bat long. My target was to get a 100 in 30 overs and then go on.”
India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni singled out fielding as the “area of concern” and hoped the six-day gap before the next game against England will help some of his team members to regain their fitness.
“We did well in bowling and batting departments. But fielding is a big area of concern,” he said.
“All the good teams are also good fielding sides. While fielding, we will want to save around ten runs.”
New Zealand claimed an emphatic 10-wicket victory in their opening match after bowling Kenya out for 69 in Chennai yesterday.
Hamish Bennett claimed four wickets while Tim Southee and Jacob Oram took three each as the Kenya batsmen failed to cope with the pace of the Black Caps attack.
Indeed, only three reached double figures as they collapsed from 40 for one to 69 all out in 23.5 overs.
In reply, New Zealand openers Martin Guptill (39 not out off 32 balls) and Brendon McCullum (26no off 17) overhauled the target inside eight overs to seal a comprehensive victory.
New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori insisted it was important to make a good start and hailed his pace bowlers.
“The wicket had a bit of variable bounce, which our seamers exploited. It was a great performance from the bowlers,” said Vettori.
“It was good to start like this. The victory will stand us in good stead for the match against Australia on Friday.”
Sri Lanka got their World Cup campaign off to a flier with a comprehensive 210-run win over Canada in their Group A game at Hambantota yesterday.
Batting first, the Lions amassed 332 for seven in 50 overs thanks to Mahela Jayawardene’s century and a 179-run third-wicket stand he shared with skipper Kumar Sangakkara (92).
In reply, Canada slumped to 53 for five and Rizwan Cheema’s quickfire 37 only served to delay the inevitable as Thisara Perera and Nuwan Kulasekara took three wickets each to bowl their opponents out for 122 with 13 overs to spare.
“It was all set up by the openers,” Sangakkara said. “They batted very well and gave us a solid start. Dilshan got a half-century but unfortunately couldn’t kick on.
“But the real star was Mahela Jayawardene; it was very easy to bat with him. Once we got that foundation and that solidity, we were able to launch and go beyond 300.
“Wickets like this when you haven’t played before, it’s nice to get an idea of what’s going on. So I took a bit of time with my innings and then Mahela came in and brought the momentum back.”
