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IND vs NZ | Twitter impressed as Mitchell’s century overshadows Rahul’s to help Kiwis draw level

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ByVenkateswaran N, SportsCafe Editor

15
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New Zealand beat India by seven wickets in the second ODI in Rajkot to level the three-match series on Wednesday. Daryl Mitchell hit an unbeaten century to anchor the chase and take the visitors home after KL Rahul also stepped up with an unconquered hundred, earlier, to take India to 284/7.

‌Daryl Mitchell continued his exceptional form in ODI cricket to power New Zealand to a series-levelling seven-wicket win over India in the second game in Rajkot. Mitchell laced his unbeaten 117-ball 131 with 11 fours and two sixes to power his side to 286/3 after KL Rahul had taken the home side to a challenging total with his unbeaten century.

After being put into bat at the Niranjan Shah Stadium, India had a quiet start courtesy of some accurate bowling from Kyle Jamieson, who bowled back-to-back maidens first up. Unsurprisingly, Rohit Sharma took 10 balls to get off the mark, while captain Shubman Gill was also slow off the blocks as the hosts managed just 10 runs in the first five overs. But, in an imminent shift of gears, Rohit hit two boundaries each of Zak Foulkes and Jamieson in the next two overs, with Gill also picking pace with three fours and a six in the subsequent couple of overs. That helped the Men in Blue end the powerplay at close to run a ball at 57/0. But the former Indian skipper miscued, while trying to push the scoring further, in the deep, to be Kristian Clarke’s first wicket in the game. Though his younger partner got to his fifty in style with a boundary two overs later, Gill once again ended up wasting an excellent start to be dismissed for 56 from 53 balls, after hitting nine fours and a six. And soon India found itself in a bothersome position, losing both Shreyas Iyer and Virat Kohli in a gap of 11 balls, with the score reading 118/4 with more than 26 overs to play. However, KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja papered the immediate cracks with a sedate, yet steady, partnership. Though the pair was unable to find a boundary in their first three overs, Rahul broke the shackles with a boundary off Glenn Phillips after more than 10 overs. They added 73 runs in 88 balls to take the side closer to the 200-run mark before captain Michael Bracewell caught Jadeja off his own bowling in a soft dismissal. However, Rahul continued his composed innings, completing his half-century with a boundary in the next over. The wicketkeeper-batter, in the company of the lower order, accelerated the proceedings to reach the three-figure mark in the penultimate over. He remained unbeaten on 112 off 92 balls, peppering his innings with 11 fours and a six, as the Men in Blue added 85 runs in the last 10 overs to end at 284/7. Meanwhile, Clarke, who orchestrated the middle-order collapse, finished with figures of 3/56 in eight overs.

The Kiwis started their chase on a positive note with Devon Conway hitting three boundaries in the first three overs. But the home side bounced back, with Harshit Rana first disturbing Conway’s furniture, before Henry Nicholls played on while trying to pull Prasidh Krishna in the 13th over, with the score just at 46. But Mitchell looked to continue his ominous form with a six off Nitish Kumar Reddy down the ground very early in his innings. However, the home side tried to stay afloat as they tightened the screws, conceding just 13 runs, without a boundary, between overs 16 and 20. But Mitchell took the attack to the opposition with a six and four in Kuldeep Yadav’s first over to inject some much-needed momentum. And soon, he completed his second-consecutive half-century, in just 52 balls, with Will Young also completing his fifty in the next over, with a four of Prasidh. The duo continued to find boundaries, going past their 100-run stand in the 30th over before extending it to 150 in quick time. Though the home side had the chance of getting Mitchell out, not once but twice, in the 36th over from Kuldeep, their sloppy efforts meant the Kiwi batter continued his stay. Jadeja first missed a runout chance with all three stumps to aim for, while Prasidh dropped the batter at long on in the very next ball. But the wrist spinner kept the flickering hopes alive with the wicket of Young in his next over, with the batter going back for a well-made 87 off 98 balls. But with Mitchell still out in the middle and completing his century in 96 balls, and Glenn Phillips (32) giving him company during a 78-run partnership, the visitors recorded their highest successful run chase in India and subjected the home side to a morale-sapping loss. 

NZ won!

Intresting!

Victory!

Well played!

Superb!

Partnership!

Missing!

Classic!

Century!

Haha!

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