Rain washes out Wellington tie

The second ODI between India and New Zealand has been abandoned after persistent rain kept playing spoilsport.
The series against the West Indies was ruined by rain and India won a weather-affected match by 53 runs in Napier on Tuesday.

But in Wellington any chance of a result ended when the players were called off for the final time at 7.04pm local time with India having reached 188 for four in 28.4 overs.

The match was finally abandoned at 8.22pm with captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni 23 not out and Suresh Raina unbeaten on 13.

India lead the five-match series 1-0.

What cricket there was however was entertaining with Virender Sehwag striking the ball beautifully, despite being hampered by a leg injury and calling for a runner partway through his knock, and Sachin Tendulkar showing his class as both reached half-centuries.

Before the game there was a minute's silence for the victims of the terrorist attack in Lahore on Tuesday and once the action got under way openers Sehwag and Tendulkar got India off to a solid start before the rain came for the first time.

Sehwag continued where he had left off in Napier, hitting his first boundary in the second over and regularly finding the rope thereafter.

In the fifth over he spanked Kyle Mills for four, which resulted in the New Zealand seamer being taken out of the attack by captain Daniel Vettori after going for 25 runs in just three overs.

Tendulkar was happy to bide his time though, working the strike as Sehwag did the damage at the other end.

Sehwag raced into the 40s with his only six of the match and reached his half-century with consecutive fours off Iain O'Brien, his 51 taking just 32 balls and also including nine fours.

But just three overs later and with only three more runs to his total he was heading back to the dressing room after being given out caught behind by Peter McGlashan off the bowling of Ian Butler.

McGlashan was making his international one-day debut and keeping wicket with Brendon McCullum playing as a batsman only because of a badly bruised thumb.

The dismissal appeared to be a harsh one though, as the ball looked to have come off the top of his pads and Sehwag shook his head in frustration as he walked off.

Butler came close to getting a second wicket in his next over, but Mills couldn't hold on to a tough overhead chance and Tendulkar survived and went on to make his 91st one-day fifty, bringing it up with a beautifully struck boundary.

His 51 took 57 balls and included six fours and a six.

Then after the 19th over and with India 130 for one the rain returned.

When play resumed just over an hour later, India's innings had been reduced to 44 overs.


Vettori brought himself into the attack and struck in his second over, getting the prized wicket of Tendulkar (61) when he was trapped leg before wicket.

Mills was brought back into the attack and got Yuvraj Singh to send one to Ross Taylor who took a low catch in the slips to have India at 142 for three before rain intervened for a second time to reduce the overs to 34.

The wet weather interrupted play for a third and final time but not before New Zealand had claimed the wicket of Gambhir (30).

Butler(one for 38 off seven) and Vettori (one for 14 off three) were again the pick of the New Zealand bowling attack, although Mills showed some improvement in his second spell to finish with figures of one for 46 off seven