India registered a comfortable 45-run via Duckworth/Lewis method against New Zealand in their first warm-up match at the Oval on Sunday.
India were well on course of a win at 129/3 in 26 overs in pursuit of 190 when rain stopped play. Skipper Virat Kohli looked in good form having already reached an unbeaten 52 in company of MS Dhoni (17*).
Opener Shikhar Dhawan (40 from 59 balls) also got some much needed batting practice while Ajinkya Rahane (7) and Dinesh Karthik (0) couldn’t make much use of the opportunity.
The Indian pacers were in fine form after Bhuvneshwar Kumar (3/28) and Mohammed Shami (3/47) got three wickets apiece to bundle out the Kiwis for a modest 189 in 38.4 overs.
Ravindra Jadeja (2/8), Ravichandran Ashwin (1/32) and Umesh Yadav (1/11) also got their names in the wicket-takers list. For the Black Caps, wicketkeeper Luke Ronchi was the only one who looked comfortable with the bat, top-scoring with 66 off 63 balls with six fours and two sixes while there was some lower order resurgence from Jimmy Neesham, who scored an unbeaten 46.
Despite India being in cruise control from the start, the Kiwis dropped a couple of easy catching opportunities on the field. Kohli and Co. will play their second warm-up match against Bangladesh on May 30 before kick-starting their title defence.
Brief score:
New Zealand 189 in 38.4 overs (Luke Ronchi 66, Jimmy Neesham 46*; Mohammed Shami 3/47, Bhuvneshwar Kumar 3/28) lost to India 129/3 in 26 overs (Virat Kohli 52*, Shikhar Dhawan 40; Jimmy Neesham 1/11) by 45 runs (D/L method)