Cricket: New Zealand beat India in Rajkot to keep ODI series alive
by Devesh Jaganath | by Devesh Jaganath
Daryl Mitchell leads Black Caps to seven-wicket victory in Rajkot
Daryl Mitchell helped keep New Zealand’s hopes of securing victory in their ODI series against India alive on Wednesday evening in Rajkot by leading his team to a seven-wicket win at the Khandheri Cricket Stadium and confirming our cricket predictions.
Batting first, India got off to a solid start, with Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill producing an opening-wicket stand of 70 runs. Hero of the opening match, Virat Kohli, failed to follow up on his first game performance, managing just 23 runs, while Shreyas Iyer added just eight.
KL Rahul proved to be the main contributor for the Men in Blue, scoring an unbeaten 112 off just 92 deliveries, which got his side to 284/7, but that total largely felt at least 20-30 runs short on a good wicket.
In response, New Zealand were dealt a couple of early blows with Devon Conway and Henry Nicholls falling for a combined total of just 26 runs, but Daryl Mitchell and Will Young led the team to victory with a stunning partnership of 162 runs for the third wicket.
Young departed for 87 off 98 deliveries in the 38th over, while Mitchell went on to score 131 from only 117 balls, guiding the Black Caps to a seven-wicket victory with 15 balls to spare. The series is now level at 1-1 heading into the third and final match on Sunday at the Holkar Stadium in Indore.
Spin expected to be a major factor in Indore
India’s assistant coach, Ryan ten Doeschate, explained that the Men in Blue required an extra spin bowler in the second ODI against New Zealand, suggesting that a few changes may be forthcoming as the series heads to Indore this weekend.
The Black Caps included three spinners in their lineup, including Michael Bracewell, Glenn Phillips, and debutant Jayden Lennox. The spin trio only picked up two wickets between them, but also conceded only 89 runs in 23 combined overs.
India sent out just two spinners in Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav, who gave away 126 runs in 28 overs, while failing to take a wicket. Nitish Kumar Reddy was the sixth bowler used by the home side, but he finished wicketless in his two overs.
