IND vs NZ: "I Was Confident We Could Win The Game": Michael Bracewell Recalls His First ODI Innings Against India

Michael Bracewell, an all-rounder for New Zealand, said he arrived at the crease in Hyderabad feeling quite confident about the visitors’ chances of winning the opening ODI against India.

The left-handed batter recognized that when many wickets fall at the other end, there is generally less pressure.

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When New Zealand fell to 131-6 in the 29th over, Michael Bracewell said that he was highly pursuing 350 for victory. Bracewell almost pulled off a remarkable triumph. The 31-year-old made 140 off 78 pitches, including 12 fours and 10 sixes, but he passed away in the 50th over as the home team won by 12 runs.

While aiming to rebuild the innings and being confident in pursuing the target, Bracewell said he was at ease. Despite their 162-run partnership with Mitchell Santner, the southpaw said it was still a “bummer” that New Zealand couldn’t win.

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As reported by Stuff.co.nz, he said: “When you’re losing so many wickets, that relieves some of the pressure. You just have to attempt to rebuild and don’t go too far ahead of yourself. I walked out optimistic that we could win the game. We were simply attempting to give ourselves a chance. We tried to put together a little partnership at the end, but it wasn’t quite enough – we fell 12 runs short, which is a bit of a pity really.”

“We knew we could take the game deep”: Michael Bracewell

Michael Bracewell also asserted that Santner and he discussed how to extend the game’s duration and that they were inspired by Shubman Gill’s hitting.

“It was just about attempting to take it deep and get it close; we weren’t really talking much about trying to win the game. We knew we could play the game deep and give ourselves an opportunity to have a little bit of a dive at the finish because of the relatively narrow boundaries present.”

“We were able to do so, and we probably just left ourselves a few too many to have a fair run at it. We watched Shubman bat for 50 overs and recognized that it was a terrific wicket to bat on if you could get yourself in” Michael Bracewell Added.

In addition to becoming the third-fastest ODI century by a Kiwi, Bracewell’s 57-ball score was also the joint-fastest ODI century in India. Additionally, the gifted player matched MS Dhoni’s record as the first player to score more than one ton when batting at No. 7 or below in ODIs.

Also Read: IND vs NZ: Hardik Pandya Frontrunner To Replace Rohit Sharma As India’s ODI Captain – Reports

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