Who said what: How the world reacted to India's dominant performance in the 2nd ODI
It was yet another day where the Indian team's dominance throughout the match became the highlights of the game. After starting the New Zealand tour on a high, the visitors won the toss in the second ODI and elected to bat first. India fielded an unchanged XI whilst the from the Kiwi’s side, Ish Sodhi and Collin De Grandhomme replaced Mitchell Santner and Tim Southee.
Batting first, the Indian openers provided a brilliant start to the team as India didn’t lose a single wicket in the first 10 overs. Rohit Sharma then started to increase the tempo after the first power play whilst Shikhar Dhawan, smartly held the strike from the other end. Both the players had completed their 50s along with the 150-run stand by 25th over.
However, Trent Boult then struck the first wicket of the match in the 26th over as he dismissed Shikhar Dhawan with a bit shorter delivery. The southpaw's dismissal was then followed by Rohit's wicket who became the victim of Lockie Ferguson.
The Indian captain Virat Kohli then tried to string a partnership with Ambati Rayudu but was sent back to pavilion just before the slog overs. 5 overs later, Rayudu too was dismissed by Lockie Ferguson and the finishing duties once again came on the shoulders of MS Dhoni and Kedar Jadhav.
Jadhav and Dhoni initially played slowly, but then increased the tempo as the deadly duo struck 21 runs in the last over of the innings. With the help of Rohit & Dhawan's scintillating opening stand, Virat & Rayudu partnership and Kedar & Dhoni's invaluable partnership, India posted a sturdy target of 325 runs in 50 overs.
Chasing a mammoth total, the Blackcaps didn't have a good start as they lost they lost Martin Guptill in the 5th over itself. Williamson was also soon dismissed by Mohammed Shami. The chain of wickets didn't stop even then as the spin twins broke the backbone of the Kiwi batting line-up.
In the end, it was disappointing for the New Zealand fans as they lost the second match of the series by 90 runs, giving India a 2-0 lead.
Here is what the captain's said:
Kohli: "Clinical performance again. We had a par score as Rohit mentioned with the kind of pitch and boundary dimensions here. But we bowled really well and back-to-back clinical performances are really pleasing. I made a conscious effort after the second drinks break to take some risks. Once I got out, the new batsman had to take time. These are the things we need to look into with the World Cup nearby".
"We would like to score those 15-20 runs extra but at the same time, good to see us chip our way to a balanced total. They are always ready to bowl for you and pick wickets, which is key. They are not content to go wicketless for 40 runs in their quota, they'd rather have more wickets for 60. That mindset is crucial for us and as is Rohit and Shikhar at the top.
Williamson: "It's a little frustrating, not so much the loss but how we are losing is the problem. Credit to India. Both surfaces so far have been slower than usual but still fair surfaces. Good signs with the ball at some points though we never got control as such. 324 was a good score that could be chased down here".
"There were some good steps forward, particularly by our bowlers to keep them down to 320-odd. Important not to carried away by results and focus just on small steps. Some of the dismissals were a result of us going too hard maybe. If we had wickets in hand, you never know but we didn't have wickets in hand. Those are the lessons that we need to take ahead.
Rohit, Man of the Match:
"Good feeling (on his performance) but more importantly, we won the match. We didn't know how the pitch will behave. The last time when SL and NZ played here, it was a high scoring game. When we got 324, we thought it was a par score and not a big score. Credit to our bowlers for doing a good job".
"(On his 14 century stands with Dhawan) We know each other since long and have a good understanding. Important for the team to get a good startl and I have always enjoyed batting with Shikhar, I am sure it's the same for him too. It's a lovely ground here and it was nice to see such a big crowd in an open ground".
Here is how Twitter reacted:
1) Boria Majumdar
2) Vikrant Gupta
3) Joy Bhattacharjya
4) Gautam Bhimani
5) Harsha Bhogle
6) Virendra Sehwag
7) Aakash Chopra
8) Trendulkar
9) Harsha Bhogle