New Delhi: Underdogs New Zealand finally felt the sweet taste of victory on what has been a forgettable tour so far by beating the favourites India by six runs in the second ODI at the Feroz Shah Kotla here on Thursday to pull level 1-1 in the five-match series.
The visitors held their nerve better to eke out the win in a pulsating contest that went down the wire. Chasing 243, India were bowled out for 236 with three balls to spare as the visiting bowlers adapted to the conditions well.
They mixed line and length effectively to unsettle the Indian batsmen during the chase while exceptional ground fielding kept the pressure on the hosts.
With 65 needed off the final 10 overs, it seemed difficult though India were not out of the game with four wickets still in hand. Hardik Pandya (36 off 32, 3x4) and Umesh Yadav (18 not out of 23b) fought hard to take India over the line with a 49-run ninth wicket stand but fell agonisingly short.
The Indian top order disappointed, not contributing enough to get the chase on track. Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane took too many balls without making healthy contributions. Local hero Virat Kohli could add only nine runs before falling to Mitchell Santner.
Kedar Jadhav (41 off 37b, 2x4, 2x6) took the attack to the Kiwi spinners, but intelligent bowling changes from Kiwi skipper Kane Williamson got rid of him. Earlier, India’s bowlers did remarkably well to restrict the Kiwis, who at one stage had looked poised to hit the 300 mark, to a moderate 242/9 on a wicket that offered no support.
New Zealand captain Kane Williamson (118, 128b, 14x4, 6x1) hit his first ODI hundred against India and the eighth overall, to steer his team to a good position at one stage.
Unaffected by the second ball dismissal of opening batsman Martin Guptill, Tom Latham (46 off 46b, 6x4, 1x6) and skipper Williamson took their time to get set and steadily built up the innings. The two were relatively comfortable against the Indian spinners, using the sweep shot to a great effect and adding 120 runs for the second wicket.
The slow Kotla pitch supported the batsman as long as the shot selection was correct, exactly what Latham and Williamson did for a while.
But skipper M.S. Dhoni’s gamble halted New Zealand’s charge when Kedar Jadhav (1/11) accounted for Latham, trapping him in front of the stumps in his first over. Williamson, who was dropped twice, went on to complete his century off 109 balls with 76 per cent of his runs scored on the leg-side.
But the Kiwi batting line-up imploded after their 26-year-old captain was undone by Amit Mishra (3/60) when Rahane pocketed a fine catch in front of the sight-screen. Jaspreet Bumrah (3/35) fired in yorkers and slower off-cutters at the death as the visitors managed only 40 runs in the final 10 overs.
