"We had to be brave with the ball" - KL Rahul lauds bowlers after series win
KL Rahul showered praise on the Indian bowlers after they restricted New Zealand to 153 runs in Ranchi. India then chased it down convincingly to seal the series.
Asked to bat first, Martin Guptill came all guns blazing against India's new-ball bowlers, scoring 64 runs in the powerplay overs. However, the spinners led a swift comeback. Later debutant Harshal Patel continued his good run from the IPL in international cricket.
Harshal Patel has been awarded the Man of the Match for his brilliant bowling performance of 2/25 👏
#India #NewZealand #INDvNZ https://t.co/GGWjlE2K0z
Speaking at the post-match presentation ceremony, KL Rahul said:
"We did really well by pulling the game back after the first six overs. The NZ batters hit us hard in the first couple of overs and got off to a really good start. The bowlers felt that change of pace would be good and that we had to be brave with the ball. It was not easy to bowl as well with the wet ball. The bowlers were brave and made the batters' job way easier."
Harshal Patel returned with figures of 2/25 from his four overs. Meanwhile Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Deepak Chahar and Bhuvneshwar Kumar returned with apiece to restrict New Zealand to 153 runs.
Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul set up India's run chase with 117 runs before Rishabh Pant took the game away with a six-ball 12 runs knock.
"We try and see what works best for us as a batting unit" - KL Rahul on batting with Rohit Sharma
This was the 5th consecutive 50+ partnership by Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul for India in T20Is 🙌
#India #NewZealand #INDvNZ https://t.co/zv1dadOJvw
Chasing 154 runs on a tricky wicket, Rohit and KL paced the innings beautifully in the run chase. They picked the bowlers and targeted them accordingly. There was a lot of power in the middle order in the presence of Suryakumar Yadav and Venkatesh Iyer.
Speaking on the run chase, KL Rahul said:
"We (Rohit and I) always give ourselves a couple of overs to see what the pitch was doing. It's easier said than done when you are watching while you are fielding but we wanted to see how it played. We spoke about picking our bowlers to target and went ahead with it. Both of us had to take down whoever was bowling and that's what Rohit did."
He added:
"We try and see what works best for us as a batting unit. We want to take more chances in the middle if we have wickets in hand. We want to trust our middle order - there's a lot of power there with Surya playing really well, Shreyas back in the side and Venkatesh playing his first series."
KL Rahul scored 65 runs while Rohit Sharma chipped in with 55 runs to set up the chase. With both openers back in the hut, Venkatesh Iyer (12*) and Rishabh Pant (12*) ensured they go past the target with ease.
With the series done and dusted, the 3rd T20I is scheduled to take place on Sunday at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.