New Zealand tours had historically been difficult for the Indian cricket team. The contrast in playing conditions, fast-paced pitches often made Men in Blue struggle in front of the Kiwis. But during the 2019 ODI series, the tables were completely turned. The visitors looked in more control of the playing conditions than the hosts New Zealand.
Starting the series with a comprehensive 8-wicket victory in Napier, the Rohit Sharma-led team won the next two matches to seal the 5-match ODI series. Down and out, the Kiwi showed some resilience in the fourth game and opened their victory count with an 8-wicket triumph over the Indians.
All eyes were now on the last match of the series at Wellington on February 3, 2019. While India was looking to finish the series 4-1, New Zealand was hoping for a face-saver victory again.
Winning the toss, Rohit opted to bat first but the decision soon appeared to boomerang. India lost quick wickets and before the end of the 10th over, four batters were down for just 18 runs. On the crease were Ambati Rayudu and Vijay Shankar. The duo slowly started stitching a partnership and took their team forward.
The partnership looked stronger, however, before it could complete a 100-run stand, a mix-up between the wickets caused Vijay’s departure at a personal score of 45. Rayudu then received good support from Kedhar Jadhav and they took things forward from where Vijay had left.
Rayudu missed out on a well-deserved 100 and got dismissed at 90 by Matt Henry. A quick-fire cameo by Hardik Pandya (45 off 22) paced India’s run rate and the team managed a total score of 252 runs before getting bowled out on the second last ball of the innings.
In response, New Zealand too faced initial hiccups and lost 3 wickets quickly. But the fall of Kane Williamson (39 off 73) in the 26th over caused a batting collapse. The hosts lost wickets at regular intervals and the target kept going further away from their reach. New Zealand was bowled out for 217 runs in the 45th over and the Indian team clinched an official series victory.
This was India’s first ODI series victory on New Zealand’s soil in a decade and only the second since 1976. Prior to this triumph, India beat the Kiwis at home in 2009 under MS Dhoni’s leadership.
Get the latest Cricket News, Schedule and Cricket Live Scores here
Comments
0 comment