Kane Williamson's gamble to compromise on speed and pick three specialist spinners paid off as New Zealand humbled host India by 47 runs in a spin-dominated Super 10 contest of the World Twenty20 Tuesday. Opting to bat first, New Zealand posted 126-7 in the Group Two contest on a prodigiously turning track at Nagpur's VCA Stadium, seemingly a below-par total against the host nation which it famed for its proficiency against spin bowling. New Zealand's three-pronged spin attack, however, ensured it was more than enough as Mitchell Satner (4-11), Nathan McCullum (2-15) and the Indian-born Ish Sodhi (3-18) wrecked the host, which folded for 79 in 18.1 overs. Williamson said it was not an easy decision to drop the pace duo of Tim Southee and Trent Boult to accommodate the spinners. "Obviously that was tough, they are world class bowlers," the Kiwi captain said. "But at the same time we are looking to do the best we can in these conditions. Certainly the spinners paid off today. The wicket spun a lot and they bowled very well on it." The first three balls of the match contained the kind of drama and excitement that fans would be expecting from the sixth edition of the tournament in cricket's emotional and financial home in India. After Williamson won the toss and decided to set a target, Martin Guptill nonchalantly hit the first delivery from Ravichandran Ashwin over the bowler's head for a six. The off-spinner settled score in the very next ball, trapping the batsman leg before with a delivery that, replay suggested, would have gone over the stumps. New man in Colin Munro reverse hit the next ball for a six but threw his wicket in the next over. As wickets kept tumbling at the other end, Corey Anderson (34) tried to steady the innings and it was Luke Ronchi's (21 not out) 11-ball cameo that took it past the 125-mark. The Indian fans expected the chase to be a stroll in the park but McCullum and Santner had other ideas. They blew away India's top order, reducing it to 26-4 in the fifth over to derail its chase. Virat Kohli (23) resisted the onslaught for a while but Sodhi struck a crucial blow with his very first ball to send back the Indian batting mainstay. Home captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni waged a lone battle with a run-a-ball 30 but the celebrated 'finisher' could not get his team over the line. New Zealand beat India at its own game with its spinners claiming nine of the 10 wickets but Dhoni insisted the defeat was more down to his team's careless batting. "It was our batting that let us down," the home captain said after India's fifth futile attempt to beat New Zealand in Twenty20 Internationals. "There were quite a few soft dismissals. It was not like the deliveries got a lot of batsmen out. Maybe it was our shot selection ... there was no partnership also," Dhoni rued. — Reuters Scoreboard New Zealand M. Guptill lbw b Ashwin 06 K. Williamson st Dhoni b Raina 08 C. Munro c Pandya b Nehra 07 C. Anderson b Bumrah 34 R. Taylor run out (Raina) 10 M. Santner c Dhoni b Jadeja 18 G. Elliott run out (Dhawan) 09 L. Ronchi not out 21 N. McCullum not out 00 Extras (b4, lb3, w6) 13 Total (for 7, 20 overs) 126 Did not bat: A. Milne, I. Sodhi Falls: 1-6 (Guptill), 2-13 (Munro), 3-35 (Williamson), 4-61 (Taylor), 5-89 (Anderson), 6-98 (Santner), 7-114 (Elliott). Bowling: Ashwin 4-0-32-1, Nehra 3-1-20-1, Bumrah 4-0-15-1, Raina 4-0-16-1, Jadeja 4-0-26-1, Pandya 1-0-10-0. India R. Sharma st Ronchi b Santner 05 S. Dhawan lbw b McCullum 01 V. Kohli c Ronchi b Sodhi 23 S. Raina c Guptill b Santner 01 Y. Singh c&b McCullum 04 MS Dhoni c McCullum b Santner 30 H. Pandya lbw b Santner 01 R. Jadeja c&b Sodhi 00 R. Ashwin st Ronchi b Sodhi 10 A. Nehra b Milne 00 J. Bumrah not out 00 Extras (w3, nb1) 04 Total (all out, 18.1 overs) 79 Falls: 1-5 (Dhawan), 2-10 (Sharma), 3-12 (Raina), 4-26 (Singh), 5-39 (Kohli), 6-42 (Pandya), 7-43 (Jadeja), 8-73 (Ashwin) 9-79 (Dhoni). Bowling: McCullum 3-0-15-2, Anderson 3-0-18-0, Santner 4-0-11-4, Elliott 2-0-9-0, Milne 2.1-0-8-1, Sodhi 4-0-18-3.
