New Zealand charge to 10-wicket win

[truebluefan]

New Zealand wrapped up a thumping 10-wicket win over Zimbabwe in Ahmedabad, surpassing the Zimbabweans in every department to set up a victory that will reinvigorate their World Cup campaign. They started by making light work of a timid batting line-up, Tim Southee picking up 3 for 29 as four of the top seven failed to reach double figures and Zimbabwe limped to 162. Martin Guptill and Brendon McCullum then sealed the result with the highest opening stand of this tournament and New Zealand's best in World Cups, as the target was overhauled with more than 16 overs to spare.

New Zealand went into this game level on points with Zimbabwe, the teams ranked fourth and fifth in Group A with one victory and one defeat each and separated only by net run-rate. Beating Zimbabwe, especially considering the sheer scale of their win, means that, in all probability they will need only one more victory to book a place in the quarterfinals, with a game against Canada in hand.

Zimbabwe talked themselves into a corner before this game, letting anyone who would listen know that they were targeting New Zealand in a must-win match. Their words seemed to build more pressure on themselves than the opposition, however, and the batsmen froze under the weight of expectation to reach a challenging total after captain Elton Chigumbura won the toss and decided to bat.

Read more: http://www.espncricinfo.com/icc_cricket_worldcup2011/content/current/story/504176.html