HAMILTON, March 10 (PTI): Shikhar Dhawan cracked a scintillating century as a rampaging India today created a record � winning their ninth consecutive ICC Cricket World Cup match by demolishing Ireland by eight wickets to seal the top spot in the Group-B table.
Chasing a respectable Ireland total of 259, opener Shikhar Dhawan (100 off 85 balls) sent the Irish bowlers on a leatherhunt en route his eighth ODI hundred as the defending champions reached the target in 36.5 overs to record their fifth consecutive win in this tournament.
With Rohit Sharma (64, 66 balls) for company, Dhawan added a record 174 runs for the opening wicket to set the platform as India took the top position in group B with 10 points from five games.
While Dhawan had 11 fours and five sixes in his innings, Rohit�s second half century in the tournament had three fours and three effortless sixes.
It turned out to be an extended batting practice session for the �Men In Blue� as they toppled the previous eight-match winning streak record of Sourav Ganguly-led team in 2003. India�s nine-match record started from their group league game against West Indies at Chennai back in 2011.
While 260 was not a tall order for India�s formidable batting line-up, the flat deck at the Seddon Park made the life for inexperienced Irish pacers even more difficult.
The in-form Dhawan started the onslaught with some power packed boundaries as he recorded his second century in the mega event. It had the muscular pull-shots, the precision shots like cuts and cover drive bisecting fielders in the off-side cordon and the lofted six.
But one shot that would stand out would be the six off left-arm spinner George Dockrell. It was a tossed up delivery and he had failed to reach to the pitch of the delivery but still went through with the shot as the bottom hand came off the handle. The ball went sailing over long on fence for a six.
When the seamers bowled, the short ball went in the region between mid-wicket and deep mid-wicket while the fuller deliveries were hit straight with utter disdain.
Dhawan�s second World Cup ton came off 84 balls and he was out immediately as rival skipper William Porterfield took a smart catch running backwards.
Rohit didn�t play a barrage of strokes like Dhawan but still completed his half-century off 49 balls. Out of his three sixes, the first one off John Mooney which was just caressed over long-off stood out.
In the end, Virat Kohli (44 not out) and Ajinkya Rahane (33 not out) completed the formalities with a 70-run stand for the third wicket.
India will play Zimabwe at Auckland in their final group league encounter at Auckland�s Eden Park on Mach 14.
Earlier, Indian bowlers reigned supreme after an indifferent start as they dismissed a spirited Ireland for 259 in 49 overs after the opposition opted for batting.
Ireland were cruising at one stage with scorecard reading 206 for three but Indian bowlers made a fantastic comeback at the back-end of the innings, claiming as many as six wickets for 32 runs in a phase of 6.3 overs.
In an astonishing record, India now have bowled out opposition for the fifth time in a row.
SCORECARD
Ireland: W Porterfield c Yadav b Sharma 67, P Stirling c Rahane b Ashwin 42, E Joyce b Raina 2, N O�Brien c Yadav b Shami 75, A Balbirnie c Shami b Ashwin 24, K O�Brien c Dhoni b Shami 1, G Wilson c Rahana b Jadeja 6, S Thompson run out 2, J Mooney not out 12, G Dockrell c Dhoni b Yadav 6, A Cusack c Yadav b Shami 11; Extras: (LB-2, WD-9) 11. Total: (all out in 49 overs) 259. Fall of wickets: 1-89, 2-92), 3-145, 4-206, 5-208, 6-222, 7-226, 8-227, 9-238. Bowling: Umesh Yadav 4-0-34-1, Mohammed Shami 9-0-41-3, Mohit Sharma 6-0-38-1, Ravindra Jadeja 7-0-45-1, R Ashwin 10-1-38-2, Suresh Raina 10-0-40-1, Rohit Sharma 3-0-21-0.
India: RG Sharma b Thompson 64, S Dhawan c Porterfield b Thompson 100, V Kohli not out 44, AM Rahane not out 33; Extras (b 4, lb 2, w 13) 19. Total (2 wickets; 36.5 overs) 260. Fall of wickets:1-174, 2-190. Bowling: JF Mooney 6-0-44-0, AR Cusack 8-0-43-0, SR Thompson 6-0-45-2, GH Dockrell 5-0-44-0, PR Stirling 5-0-36-0, KJ O�Brien 6.5-0-42-0
