Who said what: World reacts to India's dominant series win over New Zealand
The ODI form of the current Indian cricket team has been top notch, as they registered yet another series victory, this time against New Zealand, who won the toss and elected to bat first. India made two changes in the team, as Dhoni was replaced by Dinesh Karthik, and Hardik Pandya came in for Vijay Shankar.
The New Zealand openers failed for the third consecutive time. The in-form Kane Williamson got out owing to a spectacular catch from Hardik Pandya, who was making his first international appearance after the Koffee with Karan controversy. Latham and Taylor brought their team out of a disastrous situation, and at one stage, they were cruising comfortably at 178/3.
Once Latham got out, the collapse began. Ross Taylor's well-crafted innings came to an end on 93. Eventually, the home team was bowled out for 243 runs. The comeback man Hardik Pandya took two wickets. Mohammad Shami did well again with the ball, taking three wickets.
The Indian openers came out to chase down the modest target. Dhawan got out early, but Rohit and captain Virat Kohli ensured that India were on track in the chase. Both of them scored fifties, also stitching a hundred run partnership for the second wicket in the process. Rayudu and Karthik added the finishing touches. This marked the first ODI series win in New Zealand for India in 10 years.
Here is what people had to say about India's comprehensive series win:
Kane Williamson: They are a very good side and they are teaching us a lesson. There are improvements today and we want to appreciate some of the lessons we have learned from their side. The consistency about their plans and the way they forced some mistakes I guess we gotta be better than that. I think everybody is wanting to contribute more. I think we are going okay with the ball in hand. We need early wickets to put pressure on the opposition.
Virat Kohli: Amazing. Three clinical games for us. Couldn't have asked for a better performance after the first two clinical games. The relentlessness of the side is something that really pleases me. We really enjoy ourselves and even at the end when Rayudu and Karthik were batting, we were sitting in the change room and cheering for every run. When a guy doesn't get runs in a couple of games, he's actually hungry to score runs and the opposition feels a bit nervous because he's gonna fire at some stage. So, that's the kind of confidence we carry in the team right now; in the batting department as well as the bowling department. The guys are making those impactful performances and that's why we have been winning convincingly. Hopefully, we can win the last 2 games.
Mohammad Shami: It's really difficult to bowl against the wind. One comes with the wind and the other is against the wind. It is difficult but not too hard. Bhuvi at the other end was also a great help. Sticking to areas where we want to bowl is the key.
Gaurav Kalra:
Aakash Chopra:
Harsha Bhogle:
Rajneesh Gupta:
Rajdeep Sardesai:
Mohammad Kaif:
Umang Pabari:
Deepu Narayanan: