Dhoni Shows Preparedness Not a Problem in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 Warm up v NZ

If all the talk after India’s first ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 warm up match against Australia was about the Indian captain’s comment about lack of preparedness, he quickly turned it around that warm up was not so much of a problem after all as he hammered New Zealand into submission.

It is too bad that Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s century will not be official because the manner in which Dhoni bludgeoned the New Zealand bowlers in Chennai, it was reminiscent of the manner in which Dhoni first stormed onto the scene.

India suffered the early loss of Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag but rallied back into contention with a partnership between Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir that yielded a hundred runs between them. While Kohli was eventually dismissed by Jacob Oram for fifty-nine, Gambhir batted for his eighty-nine runs before Tim Southee came back to inflict another blow.

From four down for 218 in the thirty-ninth over, India posted a colossal total of 360 after a whirlwind partnership between the Indian captain and Suresh Raina buried New Zealand who are desperately trying to find some confidence before the big event. Raina perished for a Twenty20-like innings of fifty runs from twenty-six balls.

• However, it was Dhoni who stole the show with a magnificent century that showed why team India are such a formidable unit and if they can keep the consistency up, they are bound to take the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 by storm.