New Zealand beat India by 9 runs in Twenty20 World Cup warm-up Game

London: Indian failed to break the New Zealand jinx in Twenty20 and slumped to a 9-run loss in its warm-up match against the Kiwis at Lord's, London. Daniel Vettori and Jacob Oram scripted the victory for New Zealand with their fine bowling in the final overs. Although it was a practice match, the win came as a moral booster for New Zealand, while it exposed the fitness of Indian players.

India won the toss and elected to field first. The Kiwis put up 170/7 in 20 overs. Ross Taylor was the top scorer with 41 off 33 balls. McCullum made 31 off 19 balls. Styris contributed 29. Franklin helped his team reach 170 with his explosive 27 not out off 10 balls. For India, Ishant Sharma was the pick of the bowlers with 4 wickets.

Chasing a victory target of 171, India started well by 42 runs in the first 5 overs. Gambhir was the first to go for 14. Rohit Sharma hit 36 off 20 balls with 3 boundaries and 3 sixes to keep the scoring rate high. Vettori turned the heat on Indians by claiming Rohit and Dhoni in his very first over. However, Suresh Raina hit back by scoring 19 runs off Vettori's next over.

Suresh Raina scored 45 off 24 balls with 3 boundaries and 3 sixes. India finished at 161/6 in 20 overs. Ravindra Jadeja remained unbeaten on 41. For New Zealand, Vettori took 3 wickets. Yuvraj did not play in this match, while Sehwag did not bat due to injury.

In another warm-up game, South Africa beat Pakistan by runs. South Africa won the toss and elected to bat first. They put up 186/7 in 20 overs. Graeme Smith was the top scorer with 70. Gibbs too batted well and made 42. Albie Morkel and Kallis contributed 32 and 26 respectively. For Pakistan, Sohail Tanvir took 2 wickets.

Chasing a victory target of 187, Pakistan never looked set to win the match and bowled out for 127 in 19.4 overs. Ahmed Shehzad was the top scorer with 33. For South Africa, Roelof van der Merwe, Dale Steyn and Johan Botha took 2 wickets each.