India finished on top of Pool B without conceding a single defeat in the group stage as they clinched a six-wicket win over Zimbabwe in a thrilling encounter at Eden Park in Auckland on Saturday.
The match saw Zimbabwean skipper Brendon Taylor knocking a splendid ton in his last ODI outing for the country and Suresh Raina scoring his maiden World Cup ton for India.
Put into bat first, Zimbabwe recovered from a shaky start to put up a respectable total of 287 runs before they were all bowled out with seven balls remaining.
Zimbabwe were reeling at 33-3 in the 11th over, when Taylor arrived on the pitch to stabilize the team's score with his destructive performance with the bat.
In a fitting tribute to his ODI career, Taylor bowed out of the tournament with a 138-run knock as he starred in two crucial partnerships -first with Sean Williams (50) for a 93-run fourth wicket partnership then with Craig Ervine (27) for a 109-run fifth wicket partnership, to guide Zimbabwe to a 287-run total.
Sikandar Raza also contributed 28 runs with the bat while Regis Chakabva scored 10 runs as the rest of the Zimbabwean team failed to score beyond the single digit.
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Mohammad Shami, Umesh Yadav and Mohit Sharma all shined with the ball as they claimed three wickets apiece during their destructive spells that reduced Zimbabwe's batting line-up. Meanwhile, Ravichandran Ashwin claimed one wicket.
India got off to a shaky start in their run chase as both openers Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan were sent back to the pavilion by Tinashe Panyangara for their individual 16 and four runs respectively with his destructive pace.
Virat Kohli then arrived on the pitch to provide some stability with his 38-run knock, while Ajinkya Rahane managed to contribute just 19 runs with the bat. It left India reeling at 92 runs in the 22nd over for the loss of four wickets.
However, skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Suresh Raina calmed the nerves for India as they starred in an unbeaten 196-run fifth-wicket partnership to knock the winning runs for the defending champions.
Dhoni was in outshining form as he remained unbeaten on 85 runs that came off 76 deliveries and included eight fours and two sixes.
However, the star performer of the match was Raina who scored his maiden World Cup century as he remained unbeaten on 110 runs, which came off 104 deliveries and included nine fours and four sixes. He was named the Man of the Match for his blitzkrieg with the bat.
Zimbabwe captain Taylor said that his side played some brilliant cricket, and added that they have been shoddy at times. He claimed that it hasn't been a lot in it though, just a few dropped catches, and maybe finishing off the death bowling, but overall he insisted that they have played some good cricket.
Meanwhile, winning team captain Dhoni said that even when Kohli went in to bat, they felt a bit of pressure, adding that Zimbabwe are a good side, but insisted that they were expected to win. He claimed that the wicket really wasn't coming on nicely, and they didn't have enough pace to work with, adding that their lower order got a bit to bat.
Dhoni said that Raina is a key player for India at number five, adding that the partnership between Raina and him was very good.
India would now face Bangaldesh in the World Cup knockout stage in Melbourne on March 19, while Zimbabwe would sign off from the sport's pinnacle tournament, with one win in their bag from the Pool stage.