India and New Zealand might have played warm-up match against each other in this edition but the last time the two teams met in a World Cup fixture was back in 2003 in Centurion. Batting first, the Kiwis never looked comfortable against a formidable Indian bowling line up and were bundled out for 146 in 45.1 overs. Captain Stephen Fleming was the top-scorer with 30 while all-rounder Jacob Oram scored 27.
For India, left-arm pacer Zaheer Khan returned with figures of 4/42 in 8 overs. In reply to New Zealand’s 146, the Men in Blue had a shaky start as they were reduced to 21/3 with the likes of Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly back in the hut. New Zealand could have also got rid of Rahul Dravid if Brendon McCulum who was keeping wickets haven’t dropped Rahul Dravid off Shane Bond.
But the drop proved costly for Fleming’s side as they were not able to make any comeback in the game. Dravid along with Mohammad Kaif stitched an unbeaten 129-run stand for the fourth wicket to guide India home by 6 wickets. India eventually ended their campaign as runners-up.
