"What are you doing?" - Aakash Chopra on New Zealand's dismal batting performance in 2nd ODI vs India
Aakash Chopra has expressed his disappointment over New Zealand's inability to make a match of it in the first international game in Raipur on Saturday (January 21).
Tom Latham and Co. were bowled out for 108 after being asked to bat first in the second ODI against India. The Men in Blue then chased down the target with eight wickets and almost 30 overs to spare to complete an emphatic win and seal the three-match series ahead of the final game in Indore.
While reviewing the game in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra lambasted the visitors for their dismal batting performance, saying:
"It was the first international match on the Raipur ground. I had great hopes that it would be an amazing match because obviously, it has got another charm. But what is this - 108 runs, what are you doing?"
Chopra added that the initial scoreline made it seem like a football game, explaining:
"The start was extremely ordinary. Finn Allen was dismissed off the fifth ball of the first over and then they became 9-3. We were saying - Is it a cricket match or a football score? The difference was that whoever has nine against their name is winning there, here the scale was tilted towards those who had three against their name."
Finn Allen was castled by Mohammad Shami before the visitors had a run on the board. Mohammed Siraj then had Henry Nicholls caught by Shubman Gill at first slip before Shami took Daryl Mitchell's return catch to reduce the Kiwis to 9-3 after 6.1 overs.
"We saw an extremely ordinary batting performance" - Aakash Chopra
Chopra pointed out that the wickets kept falling like ninepins, elaborating:
"The wickets did not stop falling after that. Devon Conway was still standing, I was expecting him to play well but Hardik Pandya took an amazing return catch. Daryl Mitchell was caught and bowled, and Latham was dismissed by Thakur. We saw an extremely ordinary batting performance."
Modern day batters ke samne thoda ball hila or Garba chalu 🙈
The cricketer-turned-commentator concluded by highlighting that all the Indian bowlers were among the wickets, observing:
"Mohammed Shami picked up three wickets; Hardik Pandya and Washington Sundar took two wickets apiece, and Siraj, Shardul Thakur and Kuldeep Yadav picked up one wicket apiece. This is a really one-sided event."
Shami finished with figures of 3-18 in six overs. Glenn Phillips (36), Mitchell Santner (27) and Michael Bracewell (22) were the only New Zealand batters to reach the double-digit mark.