Shikhar Dhawan scored a scintillating century as a rampaging India created a record, winning their ninth consecutive ICC Cricket World Cup match by demolishing Ireland by eight wickets to seal the top spot in Pool B, on Tuesday.
Dhoni switched to Plan B: Take the pace off the ball and the oxygen out of the game
Chasing a respectable Ireland total of 259, opener Dhawan (100 off 85 balls) sent the Irish bowlers on a leather hunt en route his eighth ODI hundred as the defending champions reached the target in 36.5 overs to register their fifth consecutive win in this tournament.
His second World Cup ton came off 84 balls. He was out soon after reaching the milestone, as rival skipper, William Porterfield, took a smart catch, running backwards
With Rohit Sharma (64, 66 balls) for company, Dhawan added a record 174 runs for the opening wicket to set the platform, as India took the top spot in Pool B with 10 points from five games.
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While Dhawan had 11 fours and five sixes in his innings, Rohit's second half century in the tournament had three fours and three effortless sixes.
Rohit didn’t play a barrage of strokes like Dhawan but still completed his half-century off 49 balls. Out of his three sixes, the first one off John Mooney, which was just caressed over long-off, stood out.
In the end, Virat Kohli (44 not out) and Ajinkya Rahane (33 not out) completed the formalities with a 70-run stand for the third wicket.
The in-fom Dhawan started the onslaught with some power-packed boundaries as he recorded his second century in the mega event. It had the muscular pull-shots, the precision shots like cuts and cover drive bisecting fielders in the off-side cordon and the lofted six.
Dhawan’s second World Cup ton came off 84 balls and he was out immediately as rival skipper William Porterfield took a smart catch running backwards.
While 260 was not a tall order for India's formidable batting line-up, the flat deck at the Seddon Park made the life for inexperienced Irish pacers even more difficult.
It turned out to be an extended batting practice session for the 'Men In Blue' as they toppled the previous eight-match winning streak record of the Sourav Ganguly-led team in 2003.
India's nine-match record started from their group league game against West Indies at Chennai, back in 2011.
Earlier, India's bowlers reigned after an indifferent start as they dismissed a spirited Ireland for 259 in 49 overs after the opposition opted for batting.
Ireland were cruising at one stage with scorecard reading 206 for three but Indian bowlers made a fantastic comeback at the back-end of the innings, claiming as many as six wickets for 32 runs in a phase of 6.3 overs.
In an astonishing record, India now have bowled out opposition for the fifth time in a row.
Niall O’Brien, with a run-a-ball 75 that had seven boundaries and three sixes, was the top-scorer while skipper Porterfield's patient 67 off 93 balls gave the Irish a platform.
However, despite losing wickets in a heap, Ireland’s score is the highest among the five teams that have played against India. The middle and lower-order collapse hurt Ireland as Ravichandran Ashwin (2/38) was the most impressive Indian bowler on view although Mohammed Shami (3/41 got more wickets.
Umesh Yadav (1/34) got a bit of stick while Suresh Raina (1/40) did more than what was expected of him.
India play Zimabwe at Auckland in their final group league encounter at Auckland’s Eden Park on Mach 14.
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