To the delight of Indian fans, India romped home to a 6 wicket victory today at the picturesque Dharmasala. India hardly broke a sweat and were in firm control from the very start. Hardik Pandya, making his ODI debut and Virat Kohli shone in today’s match. The Sportsrush takes a look at the 5 things we learnt from India vs New Zealand.
Advertisement
1) Hardik Pandya’s utility as an allrounder
This was perhaps the biggest takeaway from today’s encounter. Indian fans were left dumbfounded when the debutant Hardik Pandya came in to bowl the second over. However, the move paid off courtesy Pandya’s incisive lines and some assistance from the lively Dharmasala wicket.
Pandya was carved around for a few boundaries initially. However, he kept his calm and bagged the prize scalp of Martin Guptill soon after. He was caught behind of a brilliant delivery around the corridor of uncertainity. He later picked up the scalps of danger men Corey Anderson and Luke Ronchi to cap off a remarkable debut.
2) New Zealand’s susceptibility to spin
This is something that has been haunting since the recently concluded test series. Ashwin and Jadeja had wreaked havoc on the batting lineup. The trend continued today with Amit Mishra dislodging the Kiwi tail after some resistance from Southee. He also completed 50 wickets in the process.
Even a non-premier bowler like Kedar Jadhav rolled his arm over and picked up wickets off consecutive deliveries. The other spinner in the team, left arm spinner Axar Patel too bowled tight lengths making scoring difficult. Thus, New Zealand’s susceptibility to spin was on blatant display today.
3) India’s use of the new ball
Harsha Bhogle remarked today about the main differentiating factor between the two sides. “The new ball was the difference between the two sides. This was both the way it was bowled and the way it was played.” Incidentally, the Indian pace battery was also up for the task today. The score read a paltry 65-7 at one stage.
Additionally, the Indian openers showed better application and took the shine out of the new ball admirably well. Rohit Sharma was the first Indian wicket to fall in the 10th over at the score of 49. However, the openers Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane had already laid a strong foundation by then which set up an easy India victory.
4) Kiwis still reeling under the test debacle
The Kiwis still look withered after the debacle in the test series. The body language seemed jittery on the field today. The batting collapse also showed the lack of calmness in the batting unit. Barring Tom Latham who carried his bat today, no Kiwi batsman could last for a considerable time on the crease.
Even as a bowling unit, the Kiwis hardly bothered the Indian batters. Noticeably, the Indian batsmen gave away their wickets rather than falling to exceptional deliveries. The Kiwis need to quickly get their act together if they have to beat the rampaging Indians.
5) Virat’s solid display spells doom for the Kiwis
If things could not get worse for the Kiwis, the phenomenal Virat Kohli cracked a majestic 85 to seal victory. His knock was studded with 9 boundaries and a magnificient strike over the bowler’s head for six. Coincidentally, this strike against Ish Sodhi notched up the victory for India.
He looked in ominous form today. The drives, one straight down the ground and another through the covers off consecutive deliveries were a sight to behold. In the process, he brought up his 37th ODI fifty in 55 deliveries.
