NZ vs India 2nd ODI: Kiwis outplayed again, Virat Kohli's men lead series by 2-0

Mount Maunganui: Kuldeep Yadav’s wizardry coupled with a clinical bowling performance saw Team India take a 2-0 lead in the five-match ODI series on Saturday after crushing New Zealand by 90 runs in the second match at Mount Maunganui.

Having posted a colossal target of 325 to chase, the hosts weren’t given a sniff by their opponents until it was too late. The fact that the Kiwis registered their highest partnership of 58 runs for the ninth wicket – coming between Doug Bracewell and Henry Nicholls – displayed how dominant the Men in Blue were.

Plenty of positive signs for India while for Kane Williamson’s New Zealand, there will be a lot of things to discuss given the manner they have been outclassed, in both their games so far.

New Zealand 234-10 after 40.2 overs:

ALL OVER! India crush New Zealand by a big margin once again to take a 2-0 lead in the 5-match ODI series.

New Zealand 234-9 after 40 overs:

CAUGHT! End of a gutsy innings. Full from Bhuvneshwar, Bracewell swings hard but can only manage to find Dhawan in the deep.

New Zealand 212-8 after 37 overs:

Maiden ODI fifty for Doug Bracewell. The all-rounder is proving he truly deserves a place in the side and is emerging a key contender for the World Cup.

New Zealand 169-8 after 32 overs:

ON A HATTRICK! Kuldeep Yadav dismisses Henry Nicholls and Ish Sodhi in quick sucession. India two wickets away from victory!

New Zealand 146-6 after 27 overs:

CAUGHT! New Zealand are falling apart. Kuldeep picks up his 2nd wicket after deceiving Grandhomme with the wrong 'un that results in a wild slog and a top edge. Rayudu at deep mid-wicket makes no mistake.

New Zealand 138-5 after 25 overs:

THE WIZARD WORKS HIS MAGIC! Flighted delivery by Kuldeep pulls Tom Latham forward into the drive before the ball turns away and strikes the back pad. Plumb right in front and the umpire raises his finger.

New Zealand 103-4 after 18 overs:

STUMPED! Kedar Jadhav, the man with the golden arm, strikes with the wicket of Ross Taylor as MS Dhoni takes the bails off in a flash. THAT WAS QUICK!

New Zealand 88-3 after 15 overs:

WICKET! Colin Munro is already walking off after consulting Taylor over a review decision which he doesn't take. Tries to take on Chahal with a cheeky reverse sweep but is struck right in front.

New Zealand 53-2 after 8 overs:

CHOPPED ON! 6,6,4,2 and bowled. Kane Williamson looked in good rhythm but one bad shot execution has put the Kiwis in trouble. 20 from the over but a big, big wicket.

New Zealand 23-1 after 5 overs:

WHAT A CATCH! Chahal holds his nerve to take a difficult catch at third man after Bhuvneshwar Kumar deceives Martin Guptill with a short ball that gets the edge.

1st innings:

MS Dhoni’s stellar cameo in the end ensured a mammoth 324 total on board for the Men in Blue after India won the toss and elected to bat in the second ODI at Mount Maunganui on Saturday.

Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan got the visitors to a flier with an intense century partnership as the Kiwis looked out of control. But once Trent Boult delivered the breakthrough in the form of Dhawan, Rohit soon followed his partner’s footsteps to the pavilion, losing his wicket cheaply to Lockie Ferguson.

Virat Kohli and Ambati Rayudu then soaked pressure with a steady fifty stand before the duo missed on their fifties thanks to Boult and Ferguson.

MS Dhoni and Kedar Jadhav stepped up in the death overs to steer the Men in Blue past the 300-run mark.

India 303-4 after 49 overs:

THAT'S A BIGGIE! Banged in short by Boult, MS Dhoni pulls it over the fence for a maximum. That also brings up the 300 for India.

India 276-4 after 46 overs:

CAUGHT AND BOWLED! Round the wicket, Ferguson cramps Ambati Rayudu for room with a short ball wide around off stump that results in a top edge. He misses out on a half-century.

India 238-3 after 40 overs:

BOULT STRIKES AGAIN! Short ball does the trick again and Virat Kohli falls for the trap. Scoops it high after a top edge before Ish Sodhi completes the catch at fine leg.

India 231-2 after 38 overs:

FIFTY PARTNERSHIP! Virat Kohli, Ambati Rayudu continue to absorb the pressure after losing both openers.

India 207-2 after 35 overs:

FOUR! 200 up for India, although they have slowed down a bit following the dismissals of Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma. Can the Kiwis make a comeback?

India 173-2 after 30 overs:

CAUGHT! Back of a length by Ferguson, Rohit rocks back and pulls it straight towards Grandhomme at deep square leg. Two set Indian batsmen head back to the pavilion.

India 154-1 after 26 overs:

WICKET! The partnership has been broken. Short and wide from Boult, Dhawan slashes hard, straight to Tom Latham behind the stumps. No footwork whatsoever. Boult ends the over with a wicket-maiden.

India 124-0 after 21 overs:

India 102-0 after 19 overs:

Both the openers have made the best use of this flat wicket in Mount Maunganui with the outfield quick. A bit more momentum here and the Kiwis could be under big, big trouble.

Toss:

India won the toss and elected to bat first against New Zealand in the second one-day international in Mount Maunganui on Saturday.

Following their overwhelming win in the first match, when they bowled first, India captain Virat Kohli said his side needed to be tested defending a total.

Also read - The young Dhoni fan at the toss with Kohli and Williamson

"It's just another thing we need to strengthen as a side, put runs on the board, because we chase well," he said.

India have kept the same side that crushed New Zealand by eight wickets when batting second in the opening match of the series.

New Zealand, batting first, were rolled for 157 with India's wrist spinners Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Chahal doing most of the damage.

This was not enough to convince New Zealand to play more than one spinner although they have rotated the bowler with Ish Sodhi coming in for Mitchell Santner.

The other change in the New Zealand side is the inclusion of all-rounder Colin de Grandhomme for swing bowler Tim Southee.

"I think it's going to be a fair surface again. We know the outfield is very quick so often there's high scoring opportunities," captain Kane Williamson said.

"But hopefully we can get something out of it first up,with the tufty grass and do the job with the ball."

Squads:

New Zealand: Martin Guptill, Colin Munro, Kane Williamson (capt), Ross Taylor, Henry Nicholls, Tom Latham, Colin de Grandhomme, Doug Bracewell, Lockie Ferguson, Ish Sodhi, Trent Boult.

India: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli (capt), MS Dhoni, Ambati Rayudu, Kedar Jadhav, Vijay Shankar, Kuldeep Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Yuzvendra Chahal.

(with agency inputs)