New Delhi: New Zealand thrashed India by seven wickets in the 2nd ODI at the Niranjan Shah Stadium in Rajkot on Wednesday to level the three-match series
1-1. KL Rahul’s unbeaten 112-run knock went in vain as the Kiwis rode on brilliant knocks from Daryl Mitchell and Will Young to chase down the target of 285 runs comfortably with 15 balls to spare.
Mitchell slammed an unbeaten 131 off 117 balls, while Young scored 87 off 98 deliveries as the duo shared a match-winning stand of 162 runs for the third wicket to take New Zealand home in the run chase. Indian skipper Shubman Gill felt the lack of wickets from the bowlers in the middle overs cost the hosts the game.
India got off to a decent start with the ball during New Zealand’s run chase as Harshit Rana and Prasidh Krishna struck in quick succession to remove Kiwi openers Devon Conway (16) and Henry Nicholls (16) in quick succession to reduce the visitors to 46/2. However, Mitchell and Young got the Kiwis back on track with their impressive third-wicket stand.
While crediting Mitchell and Young for their outstanding partnership, Gill said even if India scored 15-20 runs extra, it wouldn’t have made a difference, as he blamed the lack of wickets for the loss. He also felt the bowlers should have been braver with their line and length, trying to look for wickets rather than saving runs during the Kiwis’ chase.
“We couldn’t pick up any wickets in the middle overs. With five fielders in, if you don’t keep taking wickets in the middle overs, it becomes very difficult even if we would have added 15-20 more runs. And if you don’t pick up wickets in the middle overs, it’s very difficult to stop a batsman. We did get a decent start with the ball, but they batted very well in the middle overs,” Gill said in the post-match presentation ceremony.
“In the first 10-15 overs that we bowled, the ball was doing well. After that the wicket settled. But we could have been more brave, and taken more chances. [Fielding] Even in the last match we let down a few chances. We are always trying to get better in the field and yes if you don’t take your chances, you will be in trouble,” explained the Indian skipper.
Shubman Gill laments lack of partnerships from Indian batters
Gill also lamented the lack of partnerships from Indian batters during the hosts’ innings in the match. Asked to bat first, India got off to a solid start with Gill notching up a second successive fifty and adding 70 runs with the first wicket with Rohit Sharma (24). However, the hosts lost quick wickets after Gill’s departure as the likes of Virat Kohli (23) and Shreyas Iyer (8) were dismissed cheaply.
KL Rahul slammed a brilliant knock of an unbeaten 112 to lift India from 118/4 to a fighting total of 284/7 in 50 overs. The wicket-keeper batter shared a crucial stand of 73 runs with Jadeja (27) and another valuable stand of 57 runs with Nitish Reddy (20) to help India stage a fightback. However, his batting heroics didn’t prove enough.
“On these kind of wickets, you know, as soon as you have a partnership, the set batsman has to make it big because it’s not easy for the batsman coming in to score freely,” said Gill.
