After losing every toss in the tour thus far, New Zealand arrived at the Feroz Shah Kotla hoping for a change in their fortunes. However, their luck did not change and MS Dhoni decided to let them deal with the late evening dew.
Despite losing Martin Guptill off the second ball of the match, the Kiwi batsmen appeared to be shrugging off their indifferent form with opener Tom Latham and Kane Williamson showing the way. Once the skipper reached his eighth ODI century, he perished through a tired shot. With him, New Zealand’s chances of posting a substantial total rescinded and they could only reach 242 from the full quota of overs.
The home team’s chase got off on the wrong note with their top-order leaving the heavy lifting to the remainder of the batting lineup. Though Kedar Jadhav’s handy cameo added impetus to the innings, India lost wickets in a heap.
The lower-order brought them back into the contest to raise hopes of something special. But, New Zealand held their nerves to eke out a six-run triumph and level the 5-match series 1-1 with three more to play.
Let us take a look at how each Indian player performed in the thrilling second ODI at Delhi. (The ratings given are out of 10)
Jasprit Bumrah – 8
Among the most reliable death overs operators across the globe, Bumrah continued to build on the impressive start to his career with another strong showing. Having stemmed the leakage of runs at the early stages, he came back during the end overs to demolish the lower order and help restrict the total.
Amit Mishra – 7.5
A genuine wicket-taker in almost every format, Mishra could at times turn out to be quite expensive as well. Despite going for six runs an over, the leg-spinner’s timely strikes to send back Williamson, Ross Taylor and Corey Anderson threatened to sap the momentum from New Zealand’s innings.
Kedar Jadhav – 7
A hard-hitter of the ball, Jadhav shifted the pressure back on the visitors by launching a scathing counter-attack. But, the 31-year old’s eagerness to frequently target the third-man area resulted in his own downfall for a 37-ball 41.
Hardik Pandya – 7
An all rounder possessing immense potential, Pandya almost followed up his stellar spell in the previous match with a noteworthy batting display. Having taken India agonizingly close to the finishing line, he played a reckless shot to effectively end their hopes.
Umesh Yadav – 7
He kick started the proceedings with an unplayable delivery to uproot Martin Guptill’s stumps. Despite his propensity to extract sharp movement at serious pace, Dhoni surprisingly opted to block the scoring areas instead of stacking up the slip cordon. Later on, Yadav formed an admirable late-order partnership with Pandya by batting responsibly to keep the Kiwis on their toes.
MS Dhoni – 6.5
After bringing out a 7-2 field too early on in the piece, Dhoni’s captaincy veered towards another strange pattern with spin and seam operating in tandem though the move eventually worked out in his favor. Even as he looked set to play a key hand, the veteran got out at the wrong time for 39 which came at a below par strike-rate of 60.
Axar Patel – 6
Not the one to rely on flight nor extravagant turn, Patel kept things tight in the middle-overs aside from getting rid of Luke Ronchi. When he had a perfect opportunity to display his credentials with the bat, the left hander threw it away in a desperate attempt to take advantage of Guptill’s part-time off-spin.
Ajinkya Rahane – 5.5
Offered a chance to showcase his wares at the top of the order, Rahane seemed to get acquainted with the conditions by getting off to a decent start. But, a mistimed pull shot and a contentious catch from Anderson ended his vigil.
Manish Pandey – 5.5
When it seemed like his partnership with Rahane was beginning to blossom into a vital one, Pandey lost his bearings upon the former’s dismissal. In an attempt to return for a non-existent double, he got himself run out which worsened India’s position.
Rohit Sharma – 4.5
Aside from the fact that Rohit did not contribute anything substantial to their batting efforts, the hosts will be worried about his fitness level after he winced in agony and clutched his biceps upon being dismissed thus placing him in danger of missing the next ODI.
Virat Kohli – 4
The backbone of India’s batting lineup in the limited-overs formats, Kohli was dismissed in single figures following a strangle down leg side thus reiterating the fact that the law of averages would apply to everyone irrespective of a batsman’s form or reputation.
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