An unbeaten 131 from Daryl Mitchell and Will Young’s 87-run contribution were pivotal for New Zealand chasing down a target of 285 runs set by India with seven wickets in hand on Wednesday at Rajkot’s Niranjan Shah Stadium. The ease at which the Black Caps managed to win the game came as a surprise to Indian cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar.
The win meant that New Zealand were able to level the three-match ODI series 1-1 ahead of the final game. Mitchell and Young had put together a 162-run stand for the third wicket, with Mitchell scoring his eighth ODI century. This was New Zealand’s highest successful chase in India in the ODI format. The result meant that India’s eight-match winning streak against New Zealand in ODIs ended.
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“I was surprised by how easily New Zealand got across the line because, before they started batting, everyone thought India would be able to make use of the slowness of the pitch,” Gavaskar said on JioStar. “With their bowlers, not just the spinners, but all of them, using the slowness of the surface well, it felt like India would be able to restrict New Zealand to around 260 or 270. I thought that would have been an easy win for India. But full credit to New Zealand, particularly the partnership between Will Young and Daryl Mitchell. That 150-plus stand just took the game away. I think they showed how a near-300 run total can be chased down, by taking your time to settle in and then backing your stroke-making ability and running between the wickets. Daryl Mitchell deserves huge credit, not just for the batting, but even after getting to his hundred, the way he kept running hard, putting pressure on the fielders, and constantly taking two’s. That shows both fitness and commitment to the team.”
Gavaskar believes that after the defeat in Rajkot, India will be under pressure.
“India will certainly feel the pressure going into the third ODI because, had they won this game, they would have had the freedom to experiment a little, perhaps giving opportunities to those who haven’t played so far. Someone like Yashasvi Jaiswal could have gotten a bit of a run as well. All of that might have been possible. But now they can’t take any chances. They have to play their best eleven again,” said Gavaskar.
