Mahendra Dhoni fires ton as India beat Kiwis in warm-up

World Cup warm-up match, Chennai:
India 360-5 (50 overs) bt New Zealand 243 (43.1 overs) by 117 runs

Dhoni fully justified his decision to bat first in Chennai

Captain Mahendra Dhoni scored a superb unbeaten century as India recorded a 117-run win over New Zealand in their World Cup warm-up match in Chennai.

Though star opening duo Virender Sehwag (23) and Sachin Tendulkar (17) fell relatively cheaply, Dhoni hit 11 fours and three sixes in 108 from 64 balls.

He shared century stands with Virat Kohli (59), Gautam Gambhir (89) and Suresh Raina (50) in a total of 360-5.

Brendon McCullum hit 58 off 54 balls in reply but the Kiwis were 243 all out.

Dhoni struck five successive fours off seamer Jacob Oram and added three more in the next over bowled by spinner Nathan McCullum.

Left-hander Raina dispatched Oram for three sixes in an over as the New Zealand all-rounder conceded 40 from 12 deliveries.