Cricket: Sparkling NZ see off Indians with style

By Richard Boock

CHRISTCHURCH - The New Zealand cricketers ended their six-week-long series against India last night with their most complete performance of the summer.

The team who stumbled against the tourists in Auckland at the weekend struck back in style with a convincing 70-run win to tie the Bank of New Zealand series 2-2, having earlier wrapped up the test series 1-0.

It was the first time in five day-night games at Lancaster Park that New Zealand have walked off the field with a win, and leaves the side in an upbeat mood for the series against South Africa, which begins on February 13.

New Zealand's win was founded on a scintillating batting effort, with Chris Cairns smashing a whirlwind 115 off 106 balls as his team reached 300 for only the second occasion on home soil.

India's batting line-up - which was without the injured Sachin Tendulkar - caused some alarm early in the chase as Saurav Ganguly, Ajay Jadeja and Mohammad Azharuddin chanced their arm, but the tempo could not be sustained and New Zealand was able to wrap up the resistance with 4.3 overs remaining.

That it was a particularly satisfying result for the New Zealand players was not in doubt, but the other party which might have taken a great deal of comfort from the win was the national selectors.

Their decision to call up Roger Twose and Bryan Young as replacements for injured batsmen Nathan Astle and Stephen Fleming proved an unmitigated success, with both players contributing last night with carefully wrought half-centuries.

New Zealand's batting was again blighted by the untimely run-outs of Matt Horne and Young - the first brainlessly, the second unluckily - but Cairns' impact ensured the target would be formidable, with 121 runs scored off the last 10 overs.

The 28-year-old looked to have a measure of luck when he was given not out to a catch at the wicket when his score was 51, and was dropped by Nikhil Chopra on the deep square-leg boundary at 75, but most of the time struck the ball exquisitely and on seven occasions cleared the boundary fence.

India, who head home today having lost the test series and tied the one-dayers, had no answer to his prodigious hitting near the end of the innings, with leg-spinner Anil Kumble and seamer Venkat Prasad conceding a total of 139 runs off just 19 overs.

Pictured: Chris Cairns scored the fastest New Zealand one-day international century, in 75 balls. PICTURE / FOTOPRESS