Vimal Kumar sports@ mid- day. com Auckland: New Zealand had lost their seventh wicket for just 187 runs on the board in the 38th over and it did appear that Indiau2019s decision to bowl first was a masterstroke.
Almost similarly, India lost their seventh wicket in the 32nd over with even a lower score of 153. However, the comparison ended there as New Zealand had someone like Ross Taylor to rescue them from a precarious situation along with debutant Kyle Jamieson to take the hosts to 273- 8 in 50 overs.
Taylor anchored the innings with another unbeaten knock of 73 ( 109 in the first game) and strangely he doesnu2019t get enough credit for his ability and spoken in the same breath as some ODI legends.
On Saturday, India failed to chased down the 274- run target set by the Kiwis, falling short by 22 runs to lose the second oneday international at Eden Park, thus losing their first bilateral ODI series since Australia in March 2019.
u201c Firstly, we were just trying to get through to 50 overs. We had plenty of time and that made it pretty simple. It was just about getting through those 50 overs and then my role was about how do I get Ross [ Taylor] on strike, what end do we attack [ from] and what total do we need to get. We ended up getting a little bit more [ 273]. We kind of extended a wee bit, which was good,u201d explained man- ofthe- match Jamieson, who had a memorable debut with 2- 42 in 10 overs and then an unbeaten 25 off 24 balls. His match turning 76- run partnership for the ninth wicket with Taylor was outstanding.
Chasing 274, India lost half the side even before touching 100 on the board. In spite of late heroics by Navdeep Saini ( 45) and Ravindra Jadeja ( 55), India were always chasing a formidable target in the absence of Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan.
With Kohli having a rare failure during a big run chase, it was always a tough task to level the series. The skipper was cleaned up by Tim Southee for 15. The pacer has now dismissed Kohli six timesu2014 most by any bowler in ODIs.
u201c Yes, we felt the wicket was flat and if we could stay till the end, the match could get close.
So, we were trying to contribute as much as possible and take the match to the end,u201d said Saini, at the post match press conference.
Jadeja and Saini tried to take the match down to the wire, but it was too much to expect from No. 10 and No. 11 batsmen Yuzvendra Chahal and Jasprit Bumrah as India were bowled out for 251 in 48.3 overs.
The third ODI will be played in Mount Maunganui on Tuesday.
Brief scores NZ 273- 8 in 50 overs ( M Guptill 79, R Taylor 73'; Y Chahal 3- 58, S Thakur 2- 60) beat India 251 in 48.3 overs ( R Jadeja 55, S Iyer 52, N Saini 45; T Southee 2- 41, K Jamieson 2- 42, C de Grandhomme 2- 54, H Bennett 2- 58) by 22 runs Ross Taylor
