Board President's XI clinches comfortable victory over New Zealand

The preparatory match for New Zealand on their tour to India saw the visitors face a 30-run defeat at the hands of the Board President’s XI  side. In spite of a gritty knock worth 59 runs that came from Tom Latham’s willow, the Kiwi batting was unable to consolidate on the small starts. The Board Presidents XI top-order, on the other hand, flourishes magnificently as the team put up a total of 295 runs on the board.

While the New Zealand spin-attack in Mitchell Santner and Ish Sodhi looked dangerous intermittently, it was the Indian batting that shone the brightest. The Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai saw a 147-run partnership between the Indian openers Prithvi Shaw and KL Rahul along with the stunning five-wicket haul by Trent Boult. The first ODI between India and Kiwis will be held at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on October 22.

Rahul, Shaw and Nair shine in warm-up match against New Zealand

Having won the toss, the Kiwis put in the Board Presidents XI to bat first. Shaw (66), Rahul (68) and Karun Nair (78) batted beautifully with each of them accumulating a half century. Shaw, in particular, unleashed his power-hitting skills as he smashed 9 boundaries and a maximum in his innings.

However, barring the top three, the middle and bottom order of the team failed miserably as the 7 players managed to score only 64 runs between themselves. Trent Boult was undoubtedly the pick of the bowlers, as he picked up 5 wickets while conceding only 38 runs in 9 overs. Santner, Sodhi and Tim Southee picked up 2 wickets apiece respectively. Unfortunately, Black Caps all-rounder, Todd Astle suffered a groin strain during the game, which might lead to his missing out on the entire ODI series.

In reply to the Board President XI’s 295 runs, New Zealand was unable to channel the firepower it possesses in the proper direction. Apart from skipper Kane Williamson (47) and Latham, the other batsmen were unable to convert their good starts into something significant.

Pacer Jaydev Unadkat and his spin counterpart, Shahbaz Nadeem scalped 3 wickets each, while Karn Sharma succeeded in providing the breakthrough by dismissing Williamson. The Kiwis could only bring up a total of 265 runs in 47.4 overs before the last wicket fell, thus giving a 20-run victory to the Shreyas Iyer-led side.