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The India vs New Zealand second ODI match has concluded, with the Men in Blue having taken a 0-2 lead in the series after winning the second game by the barest of margins. They won it by 4 runs by the DLS method at the Hnry Stadium, Wellington, after the match. Shubman Gill opened up the team’s performance.
Speaking after the win, Shubman Gill stated that it was not an easy wicket to bat on; he also praised his bowling unit once again as they delivered an amazing performance in the second game as well and restricted the Kiwi batters to under par. He was not happy with the batters’ performance, despite the wicket being tough to bat on.
India bowlers strikes again in 2nd ODI
Shubman Gill won the toss and yet again opted to field first. They did not make any changes from the first match; they won. Neither did New Zealand make any kind of changes. The overs were reduced to 47 due to early rain in the match. Team India had a sensational start as they removed Tim Seifert early on in the innings.
The wickets kept on tumbling as no Kiwi batter was able to settle on a wicket that was pacy and had extra bounce on it. They were reduced to 55/5 at one stage and from their Daryl Mitchell and Mitchell Santner built on a small partnership as the former was dismissed on the score of 55 runs off 104 balls.
Soon, Santner also went back inside the dressing room for 31 runs as the two departed. The New Zealand innings fell apart as they were bowled out for 134 runs. Gurnoor Brar was the pick of the bowlers who finished his spell with 4/30 in his 10 overs. Auqib Nabi, Anshul Kamboj and Axar Patel picked two wickets each.
India win a thriller in Wellington
While chasing, the Men in Blue lost their captain, Shubman Gill, early; Virat Kohli also departed for 7 runs. Rohit Sharma and Shreyas Iyer then stitched a partnership between them; Rohit was dismissed after playing a needless shot for 23 runs. Shreyas controlled the innings, but was unfortunate as he was out for 30 runs off a bouncer he could not move out.
The chips were down as the Men in Blue lost 7 wickets; however, the crisis man KL Rahul was there at the other end, but rain saved them as they were 113/7 at the stage, four runs ahead of the DLS score, and as the rain continued, the match ended in India’s favour.
"Has been bowling really well": Shubman Gill praises Gurnoor Brar
Shubman Gill, after the match, stated that he was happy to win the match despite it being a difficult run chase. He felt that 130-140 was good and thought it would be an easy chase, but they kept on losing wickets and still got over the line. He praised Gurnoor Brar’s bowling effort in the game, as he believes that he will improve as the pacer plays more games.
Shubman Gill said (as quoted by Cricbuzz), "[On the difficult run-chase] As long as we get the win ... it wasn't easy out there. I think we bowled very well. Getting them around 130–140 was good. At one point, we thought it might be an easy target, but we kept losing wickets. We got over the line in the end."
"[On the bowlers stepping up] Gurnoor, even in the last match as well, has been bowling really well. Hopefully, as he plays more games and gets more experience, he'll become more consistent with his line and length. He's got the pace, he's got the bounce. It's all about how consistent he can be and we saw today the kind of quality he brings if he can keep bowling like this."
Shubman Gill slams batters for poor shot selection
Speaking further, Shubman Gill has backed his young pace attack as they have been performing well under pressure. The Indian team captain further revealed that the pitch was challenging to bat on; however, they lost two extra wickets, and he slammed the batters for the way they got out.
Shubman Gill added, "[Message to the younger bowlers] Most of them have all the qualities that's needed. It's all about performing under pressure. International cricket is all about performing under pressure and getting that experience, bowling day in, day out and trying to deliver under pressure. That's the key point for us."
"[Areas to improve] Yeah, the pitch was definitely challenging. But I think we lost two extra (wickets) than we would have liked in the end. We knew the rain might come in at the end. And the last two shots that we played ... doesn't look well. If we would have lost this match by DLS, four or five runs, it would have definitely been a stinker for us. But happy to get over the line."
Also Read: Mitchell Santner praises Indian bowlers after New Zealand collapse in 2nd ODI
