ICC World Cup 2015, Highlights: Ton-up Shikhar Dhawan Helps India Record Ninth Consecutive Win
India confirm their position at the top of Pool B with their fifth victory. Catch all the highlights of the match here.
Shikhar Dhawan notched up his 8th ODI hundred to help India register a convincing victory over Ireland. Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane also enjoyed their time in the middle and ensured India recorded their ninth consecutive victory in World Cup matches. Catch all the highlights of the match here: (Scorecard | Standings | Full Coverage)
13:14 (IST): QUOTES
MS Dhoni: The bowlers have stepped up and I am not only talking about the three fast bowlers, but also the spinners. It looks like a happy unit. After 3-4 overs, I knew I could get the spinners, but I thought let the fast bowlers get a hit. It was a nice wicket and the ball was coming on. Suresh (Raina) bowled really well to the left-handers. At times I try to tell them what I can read from behind. I don't really have to walk up to them to tell. Knowing the conditions helps, but we have been here for four months. It feels good to win, it means I have played with some really talented guys. The last World Cup we played in the sub-continent, it was a good mix of experienced and young guys. We would like to take it forward and that's what the motive is. Both Rohit and Shikhar have been batting well. The icing on the cake would have been for them to finish things off. The wicket kept getting better, but still you need to go back and get those runs.
William Porterfield: It was slightly disappointing. But have to give credit to them, the way they came back and batted as well. There was not much on the pitch. But Niall (O'Brien) picked up the pace. We lost wickets at crucial times. If you can't get going here, you can never get going.
Shikhar Dhawan: I have spent lot of time here and sorted out my game. I have got an idea of the bounce. I now think I can play well on fast and bouncy tracks. I would like to thank the staff, who have worked with us. The message was to play with the intensity and hopefully, my captain is happy. I will always mark myself 10 out of 10.
13:11 (IST): India see off Ireland by 8 wickets to register their fifth win on-the-trot and confirm their position at the top of Pool B. Chasing 260 for a victory, India rode Shikhar Dhawan (100) and Rohit Sharma (64) record opening stand in this World Cup to achieve the target in 36.5 overs.
12:50 (IST): Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane have put on 38 runs for the third wicket as India require 32 more from 17 overs.
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12:37 (IST): STAT! Today, Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan shared record opening stand (174) in World Cup 2015.
12:29 (IST): WICKET! Shikhar Dhawan falls after scoring a hundred. Dhawan looks to hit in on the leg side, but ends up getting an outside edge. William Porterfield runs back to take a well-judged catch in cover area. Stuart Thompson gets his second wicket.
12:23 (IST): CENTURY! Shikhar Dhawan brings up his second hundred of the tournament of only 84 deliveries. This is his 8th ton in ODIs.
12:06 (IST): WICKET! Rohit Sharma misses out on a hundred. He looks to run it down to third man but ends up getting an inside edge onto stumps. Stuart Thompson gets the breakthrough.
11:59 (IST): STAT! Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan have become the sixth Indian opening pair to score fifties in a World Cup match.
11:51 (IST): Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan have added 144 runs for the first wicket. Making it India's third-highest opening stand in World Cup history.
11:45 (IST): FIFTY! Rohit Sharma goes down the track to hit a huge six over extra cover to bring up his 25th ODI half-century off just 49 deliveries.
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11:35 (IST): FIFTY! Shikhar Dhawan brings up his 13th ODI half-century off 54 balls. He was dropped on 5 and 10.
This is the best opening stand against Ireland in WCs Previous: 91 Andrew Strauss & Kevin Pietersen at Bangalore in 2011 #CWC15 #IndvsIre
- Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) March 10, 2015
11:29 (IST): HUNDRED PARTNERSHIP! Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma shared their first century stand in this World Cup.
11:23 (IST): STAT! Rohit Sharma becomes 14th India to complete 4000 runs in ODIs. He has taken 126 innings to reach the landmark.
India's opening pairs 6609 Ganguly/SRT 3919 Sehwag/SRT 1870 Sehwag/Gambhir 1680 SMG/Srikkanth 1638* Dhawan/R Sharma #BingPredicts #DimagSay
- Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) March 10, 2015
11:04 (IST): Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma bring up their first fifty-run stand in the tournament.
10:53 (IST): DROPPED! Shikhar Dhawan is living dangerously at the moment. This time he cuts John Mooney's widish delivery to point, William Porterfield dives full stretch to his left but fails to hold on to it.
10:41 (IST): DROPPED! John Mooney drops Shikhar Dhawan on 5 off his own bowling. That catch certainly would have put India under pressure. How costly will that prove? Ireland are not defending a huge total.
10:25 (IST): Openers Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan are out in the middle. John Mooney starts proceedings for Ireland.
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First time India dismissing opponent five times in a row Prev best: 4 in 1983, 1985, 1999, 2006 (2), 2014 #BingPredicts #DimagSay
- Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) March 10, 2015
09:43 (IST): That's it! Ireland have been bowled out for 259. William Porterfield hit a solid 67 as Niall O'Brien played beautifully for his run-a-ball 75. Paul Sterling (42) and Andy Balbirnie (24) also made useful contributions. For India, Shami finished with three for 41, while R Ashwin picked up two for 38.
Umesh Yadav is now the leading fielder in WC 2015 with most catches - 7 How long will he continue to stay on top? #BingPredicts #DimagSay
- Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) March 10, 2015
09:30 (IST): STAT! India have never bowled out opposition in five consecutive matches.
09:24 (IST): WICKET! Umesh Yadav too gets a wicket. He bowls a bit short and wide, George Dockrell swings his bat but ends up edging it to keepr MS Dhoni. Ireland nine down.
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09:06 (IST): WICKET! Niall O'Brien's solid and run-a-ball 75 comes to an end. Shami keeps it full and on off, Niall walks across and flicks it straight to Umesh Yadav, who goes on his knees to take a simple catch. Meanwhile, Stuart Thompson is run out by Virat Kohli. Mooney plays it towards cover and Thompson, on the other end is down half the pitch, turns quickly and even dives but is not quick enough to escape Kohli's direct hit at non-strikers end.
Sixes hit in WC2015 in New Zealand: 160 (a six every 54 balls) in Australia: 140 (a six every 63 balls) #BingPredicts #DimagSay
- Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) March 10, 2015
09:01 (IST): WICKET! Great diving forward catch by Ajinkya Rahane at short fine leg gives India their sixth wicket. Ravindra Jadeja bowls a flighted delivery on the leg side, Gary Wilson (6) gets a top edge as he attempts to sweep. Jadeja gets his first wicket.
The highest total vs India by an associate side: 265/5 by Kenya at Gwalior in May 1998 Can Ireland surpass this? #BingPredicts #DimagSay
- Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) March 10, 2015
08:55 (IST): Ireland lost two quick wickets and scored 42 runs in the powerplay. While R Ashwin removes Andy Balbirnie (24), Shami gets Kevin O'Brien (1).
08:44 (IST): Ireland reach 200 - their fourth team fifty coming off just 37 balls. They are looking to make the full use of Powerplay (36-40 overs).
08:38 (IST): FIFTY! Niall O'Brien brings up his 14th ODI fifty and in style. Punishes Ashwin for a huge six over long on to reach the landmark.
08:18 (IST): WICKET! Mohit Sharma is brought back into the attack and straight away he delivers. William Porterfield gets a top edge and Umesh Yadav runs a few steps back to take an easy catch. Mohit will take a sigh of relief with this wicket.
08:12 (IST): MS Dhoni misses stumping chance and gives life to William Porterfield on 67. The Irish skipper goes down the track and heaves only to miss the ball. Dhoni behind the stumps also misses it.
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07:57 (IST): FIFTY! William Porterfield brings up his 11th ODI half-century. He hit four fours and a six and faced 65 balls to reach the landmark.
In WC2011 at Bangalore Ireland 122/2 at one stage dismissed for 207 in 47.5 overs Yuvraj Singh 10-0-31-5 Repeat? #BingPredicts #DimagSay
- Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) March 10, 2015
07:41 (IST): WICKET! Suresh Raina joins the party. Ed Joyce departs after scoring just 2 runs. Joyce goes on his back foot and makes room to play a cut shot but misses the line and ball rushes through to uproot his middle stump.
07:34 (IST): WICKET! R Ashwin gets his man. Paul Sterling goes for 42. The Irish opener looks to play a controlled shot over bowler's head but middles it enough to reach Ajinkya Rahane at long off.
07:29 (IST): Paul Sterling gets this World Cup's 300th six as he pulls one from Ravindra Jadeja to deep mid-wicket. Strong strong start.
This is already the best start against India in this WC (1-10 ov) 46/1 38/1 28/2 38/4 #BingPredicts Ireland will make 75/0 #DimagSay
- Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) March 10, 2015
07:19 (IST): Ravichandran Ashwin joins Ravindra Jadeja. He has done it in the past but can he bring India back in the game today?
07:14 (IST): Another bowling change! Ravindra Jadeja comes into the attack in the 10th over, replaces Mohammed Shami.
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07:02 (IST): Playing their first match in New Zealand after almost a year, Indian seamers have struggled thus far in today's match. India still searching for their first wicket. MS Dhoni and company played all their previous four World Cup games in Australia.
Ireland have started well. They have nothing to lose and nothing to fear. Hope India aren't taking this game lightly.
- Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) March 10, 2015
06:51 (IST): Change in bowling! MS Dhoni is forced to make his first bowling change. Mohit Sharma replaces an expensive Umesh Yadav
06:48: (IST): Mohammed Shami tests Paul Sterling with a shorter delivery but the tactics are certainly not working today. Sterling hammers him for a biggie.
06:45 (IST): Umesh Yadav's short-ball tactics is not working against William Porterfield. He had been hit for a four in his previous over and now the Ireland captain has pulled one over deep mid-wicket for a huge six. Porterfield is making the full use of shorter boundaries.
06:36 (IST): Mohammed Shami has joined Umesh Yadav in the opening spell.
06:30 (IST): William Porterfield and Paul Sterling are out in the middle as Umesh Yadav opens the attack for India. (Toss Report)
Dhoni on the cusp of beating Ganguly's record of most consecutive WC matches wins today. Make it 9 in a row. #starsportsindia #INDvsIRE
- Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) March 10, 2015
06:17 (IST): STAT! India have won both of their one-day internationals against Ireland, both times batting second.
06:14 (IST): TEAMS
Ireland: William Porterfield, Paul Stirling, Ed Joyce, Andrew Balbirnie, Niall O'Brien, Gary Wilson, Kevin O'Brien, John Mooney, George Dockrell, Alex Cusack, Stuart Thompson
India: Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Mohit Sharma
06:10 (IST): QUOTES
MS Dhoni: The conditions are slightly different (from Australia), the outfield is smaller here. We were looking bowl first, gives us an opportunity to chase a score. I think this is the slowest surface in New Zealand. We are going in with the same squad as it gives them good exposure.
William Porterfield: It's a great place to be, obviously three wins from four. We are going to bat first. The pitch looks pretty good, so get out there and make first use of it with the bat. We have made one change.
06:04 (IST): TOSS! Ireland have won the toss and they will bat first. MS Dhoni says he was looking to bowl first.
If they beat either Ireland (March 10) or Zimbabwe (March 14) India will end up as Pool B toppers (B1). Bangladesh, currently third in Pool A, have to play New Zealand (A1) on Friday (March 13).
India of course, still cannot afford to relax. Their clash against Ireland in Hamilton could be a potential banana skin. India were in sublime form during the Australian phase of their World Cup campaign but they will be wary of the giant-killing Irish in New Zealand, where bowlers have had a lot of say.
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