IND vs NZ | Amazing to see Navdeep Saini and Shardul Thakur hold their nerves, elates KL Rahul
KL Rahul, who was the stand-in captain during New Zealand’s chase in the 5th T20I, expressed his delight over the development of Navdeep Saini and Shardul Thakur and lavished praise on the pace-bowling duo. Rahul further hailed the 5-0 routing of the Kiwis away from home as a complete team effort.
With the Kiwis needing 51 runs off 48 balls at one stage and with both Ross Taylor and Tim Seifert well-set, it finally looked like the hosts, for once, were going to overcome their demons and register a win in the series. However, when Navdeep Saini was brought back in the 13th over, the game turned on its head, as the pacer accounted for the wicket of Seifert whilst conceding just three runs. Thereon, it was familiar territory for the Kiwis, whose batting went into a free-fall, and the job Saini started was finished off to perfection by Shardul Thakur, who held his nerve towards the end.
KL Rahul, who was the stand-in skipper in the second innings today owing to the absence of both Kohli and Rohit, expressed his delight in the development of newcomers Saini and Thakur and lauded them for holding their nerve and executing their skills to perfection. He further revealed that in the absence of Kohli, the bowlers set their own fields.
“It's been amazing (the development of Thakur and Saini). Especially today, in the absence of Virat, where I wasn't really able to do much from behind the stumps. They were coming up with their own plans and it's great to see that they set their own fields now. They know exactly what to do and more often than not, they've executed what they've wanted to do,” Rahul said in the post-match press conference.
“In a format like T20, you're bound to go for runs some time, but the way they've held their nerves, it's amazing to see. To represent your country, you need to have great skill, but the execution bit and how calm they've remained has been amazing to see.”
Unlike the usual pattern of the big two - Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli - dragging India to wins, the series saw a vast variety of players be it Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Saini or Rahul himself step up their game and play a part in the team’s victory. Rahul revealed that it was satisfying to see individuals other than the usual suspects contribute and stated that it was one of the reasons that, on a personal level, made the series win a lot more sweeter.
“This is one series where I think the whole team has contributed. If you look at it, it's not been just one person or two or three senior players getting the job done, all of us have contributed. Everybody has put their hand up and everybody's contributed for the team and that's what is very very pleasing, which is why I feel we'll enjoy the series victory a lot of more.”
Albeit the Kiwi skipper missing out on the last two T20Is due to injury, the Indians saw the best of Kane Williamson in both Auckland and Hamilton, where he scored fifties, falling agonizingly short of guiding the side home in the third T20I. Rahul, who was teammates with Williamson at the Sunrisers Hyderabad franchise six years ago, lavished praise on the Kiwi skipper and revealed how he spent a lot of time talking cricket with the latter owing to their batting styles being similar. The Indian keeper further joked about how he didn’t want to see a Williamson masterclass anytime soon - neither in the ODIs nor in the IPL.
"Kane Williamson is such a versatile player and by just playing cricketing shots, he can manage to get to a strike rate of 180 or 200 and still do the damage, and that is what is very very pleasing to see. I had spent a lot of time with Kane during 2014/15 when I played for Sunrisers and he was with Sunrisers and I spent a lot of time talking to him about batting because I felt both of us had (have) a similar batting style.
“He is a treat to watch, but hopefully, in the upcoming three ODIs, we don't want to be treated to Kane's innings. And hopefully not even in the IPL as he's against me, but any other series it is fine,” Rahul concluded.
A little request for Kane Williamson from @klrahul11 🙂 #NZvIND pic.twitter.com/1cmG5J2l1l
— BCCI (@BCCI) February 2, 2020