New Zealand levelled the five-match ODI series 1-1 after beating India by 6 runs in the second ODI at Delhi. Chasing 243 for a 2-0 lead, India lost wickets at crucial intervals after doing well to restrict the visitors to 242/9 in their 50 overs.
After winning the toss and electing to field, India got off to the perfect start as they got rid of opener Martin Guptill for a duck. However, their joy was short-lived as Tom Latham and Kane Williamson put on a century partnership for the second-wicket to put them in a position of safety.
However, from 120/1 after 20 overs, New Zealand collapsed despite Kane Williamson’s century. They eventually finished with 242/9 as India’s death bowlers, led by Jasprit Bumrah came back strongly to restrict the visitors who looked on course for a total in excess of 300.
In response, India lost both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli early in their chase. Ajinkya Rahane looked to steady the proceedings but even he fell along with Manish Pandey, leaving two wicketkeepers, MS Dhoni and Kedar Jadhav to anchor the chase.
Although both managed to get the target inside 100 runs, Hardik Pandya, who starred with the ball on debut, shone with the bat in the second ODI as he saw India in with a shot of winning until the penultimate over. But once he fell for 36, the odds were slim and Bumrah was bowled by a yorker in the final over to hand the visitors their victory.
"Very satisfying,” says New Zealand’s star with the ball, Trent Boult after the thrilling win. "It's a good sign to see the bowlers bowling well and putting the Indian batsmen under pressure. I was trying to remain aggressive but give as little as possible in the 49th over ... a lot of moisture out there all together, the wicket was holding up a touch, smart bowling, it proved very effective. Looking forward to Mohali.”
Dhoni admits dew wasn’t a factor
Indian captain MS Dhoni said losing wickets regularly was what hurt India the most. He said: “It's important when you're playing at home [for the crowd to be behind you]. This was one game when we kept losing wickets. That was something that hurt us.
Speaking of what made them hit big shots, he added: “It wasn't the run rate which pushed us to play big shots. It's a day when any of the batsmen could go on and say that we could have seen it through. Felt the NZ bowlers bowled well. Weren’t able to keep wickets in hand despite the slow wicket.”
He admitted that dew wasn’t a factor and praised the bowling. “Don't think there was a lot of dew. Still wasn't coming onto the bat. In the coming games, I'll be losing a toss somewhere and then we'll have to bowl well. It was important to get the reverse swing going. Bowled well in the last 20-25 overs to restrict them to 240."
For his century, New Zealand captain Kane Williamson took home the Man of the Match. He said: “Obviously nice to talk about something else for a change. Wicket wasn't easy to increase the scoring rate. Saying that, we were probably a few off from where we wanted to be. We were able to pick up wickets, some of which were quite fortunate.
“Creating a bit of pressure on that sort of surface was the key. Boult led from the front. I think the bowling was huge for us. Probably we were below par but knew that on this surface we had enough to put on a squeeze. Wasn't easy with the dew, but the left-arm spinners did a good job. Wasn't much turn but they were great for us. Allowed the seamers to be the aggressors.
“Seam bowling was tough to face on that surface. Credit to India as well: they were 6-7 down, but never gave in and fought all the way. Just want to contribute to the team's performance whether it's less than a hundred or not. At times there was frustration: it was a good surface but it was tough to increase the scoring. I just had a bit of cramp, my arms are fine now."
Here are the reactions from the cricket fraternity:
Aakash Chopra:
Tom Moody:
Ravichandran Ashwin:
Harsha Bhogle:
Aakash Chopra heaped praise on fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah:
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