Daryl Mitchell (131) struck a composed unbeaten hundred and shared a 162-run stand with Will Young (87) to guide New Zealand to a series-levelling seven-wicket win over India in the second ODI here on Wednesday.
Chasing a stiff 285 on a slowish pitch, New Zealand romped home in 47.3 overs with Mitchell anchoring the chase. The series decider will be played in Indore on Sunday.
Earlier, KL Rahul held the Indian innings together on a sluggish surface with a gutsy hundred, guiding India to 284/7. He produced a gritty unbeaten 112 off 92 balls which included 11 fours and two sixes, forging vital partnerships in the second half and snatching control from the Kiwis, who ran through India’s formidable batting line-up earlier.
New Zealand seized control with discipline and some stroke of luck as India slipped from 99 for one to 118 for four before the halfway mark, leaving Rahul and others with the task of rebuilding on a track that remained tricky for batsmen due to its lack of pace and occasional low bounce.
The other major contribution came from captain Shubman Gill (56 off 53), who collected his second half-century in as many games.
With the Kiwi fast bowlers dominating the early exchanges by maintaining tight line and lengths, it took 11 balls for Rohit Sharma (24) to get off the mark with a single. A lofted drive over covers was the highlight as Rohit seemed to be picking up pace, but for the second time in as many matches, he fell looking to clear the ropes with his bat twisting at the time of connection.
Mishits proved to be costly for Gill and Shreyas Iyer (8) as well. A slow start to the innings notwithstanding, Gill adjusted well to the nature of the pitch to accelerate, striking nine fours and a six over fine leg with a short-arm jab. But Gill failed to read a slow and short ball rammed into the pitch by Kyle Jamieson as he meekly pulled it straight to Daryl Mitchell for an easy catch at midwicket.
Iyer, who also took time settling in, fell cheaply when he hit one straight off Clarke to Bracewell at mid-off. However, silence befell on the festive crowd at the Niranjan Shah Stadium when an innocuous delivery outside the off-stump took a thick inside edge and dislodged Virat Kohli’s middle stump.
Kohli had begun with a first-ball four but regular wickets at the other end perhaps affected the rhythm with which he has been batting of late, as he tried to guide the ball behind the wickets but played it on. With India in need of stability, local hero Ravindra Jadeja (27) walked out amid loud cheers and played his part well in a 73-run stand for the fifth wicket with Rahul.
Scoreboard:
India: Rohit Sharma c Young b Clarke 24 Shubman Gill c Mitchell b Jamieson 56 Virat Kohli b Clarke 23 Shreyas Iyer c Bracewell b Clarke 8 KL Rahul not out 112 Ravindra Jadeja c & b Bracewell 27 Nitish Kumar Reddy c Phillips b Foulkes 20 Harshit Rana c Bracewell b Lennox 2 Mohammed Siraj not out 2 Extras: (LB-2, NB-1, WD-7) 10 Total (For 7 wickets in 50 overs) 284 Fall of wickets: 1-70, 2-99, 3-115, 4-118, 5-191, 6-248, 7-256.
Bowling: Kyle Jamieson 10-2-70-1, Zak Foulkes 9-0-67-1, Kristian Clarke 8-0-56-3, Jayden Lennox 10-0-42-1, Michael Bracewell 10-1-34-1, Glenn Phillips 3-0-13-0.
New Zealand: Devon Conway b Harshit Rana 16 Henry Nicholls b Prasidh Krishna 10 Will Young c Nitish Kumar Reddy b Kuldeep Yadav 87 Daryl Mitchell not out 131 Glenn Phillips not out 32 Extras (LB 5, WD-5) 10 Total: (For 3 wickets in 47.3 overs) 286 Fall of wickets: 1-22, 2-46, 3-208.
Bowling: Mohammed Siraj 9-0-41-0, Harshit Rana 9.3-1-52-1, Prasidh Krishna 9-0-49-1, Nitish Kumar Reddy 2-0-13-0, Ravindra Jadeja 8-0-44-0 Kuldeep Yadav 10-0-82-1.
Also read: Kohli’s 93 anchors India to win over New Zealand
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