Virat Kohli's men fail with bat and ball to give NZ an ODI series win; Ross is boss again
India's Ravindra Jadeja is dejected as NZ pacer Kyle Jamieson celebrates the wicket of Navdeep Saini in Auckland on Saturday. Pic/Getty Images
Auckland: New Zealand had lost their seventh wicket for just 187 runs on the board in the 38th over and it did appear that India's decision to bowl first was a masterstroke.
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Almost similarly, India lost their seventh wicket in the 32nd over with even a lower score of 153. However, the comparison ended there as New Zealand had someone like Ross Taylor to rescue them from a precarious situation along with debutant Kyle Jamieson to take the hosts to 273-8 in 50 overs.
Taylor anchored the innings with another unbeaten knock of 73 (109 in the first game) and strangely he doesn't get enough credit for his ability and spoken in the same breath as some ODI legends.
Ross Taylor
On Saturday, India failed to chased down the 274-run target set by the Kiwis, falling short by 22 runs to lose the second one-day international at Eden Park, thus losing their first bilateral ODI series since Australia in March 2019.
"Firstly, we were just trying to get through to 50 overs. We had plenty of time and that made it pretty simple. It was just about getting through those 50 overs and then my role was about how do I get Ross [Taylor] on strike, what end do we attack [from] and what total do we need to get. We ended up getting a little bit more [273]. We kind of extended a wee bit, which was good," explained man-of-the-match Jamieson, who had a memorable debut with 2-42 in 10 overs and then an unbeaten 25 off 24 balls. His match turning 76-run partnership for the ninth wicket with Taylor was outstanding.
Chasing 274, India lost half the side even before touching 100 on the board. In spite of late heroics by Navdeep Saini (45) and Ravindra Jadeja (55), India were always chasing a formidable target in the absence of Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan. With Kohli having a rare failure during a big run chase, it was always a tough task to level the series. The skipper was cleaned up by Tim Southee for 15. The pacer has now dismissed Kohli six times—most by any bowler in ODIs.
"Yes, we felt the wicket was flat and if we could stay till the end, the match could get close. So, we were trying to contribute as much as possible and take the match to the end," said Saini, at the post match press conference. Jadeja and Saini tried to take the match down to the wire, but it was too much to expect from No. 10 and No. 11 batsmen Yuzvendra Chahal and Jasprit Bumrah as India were bowled out for 251 in 48.3 overs.
The third ODI will be played in Mount Maunganui on Tuesday.
Brief scores
NZ 273- 8 in 50 overs (M Guptill 79, R Taylor 73*; Y Chahal 3- 58, S Thakur 2- 60) beat India 251 in 48.3 overs (R Jadeja 55, S Iyer 52, N Saini 45; T Southee 2- 41, K Jamieson 2- 42, C de Grandhomme 2- 54, H Bennett 2- 58) by 22 runs
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