Gill, Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer score fifties as Team India race to 306 in 1st ODI against New Zealand
Shikhar Dhawan was back to his flamboyant best with the bat as he led the side in the 1st of the 3 ODI’s against NZ as Rohit Sharma has been rested for the current tour .
Even though Shikhar Dhawan had daunted the skipper hat before n ODI’s, he has an uphill task ahead of him both with the bat and leading the team to success, more so, with a second string side as star players like Kohli , Bumrah , Pandya and Jadeja also gave a miss to the tour.
Team India starts first inning off in a flurry
The start has been a satisfactory one for Dhawan even though consistency remains the key. He was ably complimented by his fellow opening partner, the elegant, Shubhman Gill as the duo put up a 124 run opening stand. Gill displayed grit and determination right from the start and seemed to be poised for a big score before he was caught behind of Lockie Ferguson.
This is the 4th 100 plus stand by the duo in the last 12 innings. Shreyas Iyer had a point to prove after a dismal outing in the T20’s, but showed maturity as he held the innings together with Sanju Samson after Rishab Pant and SKY got out cheaply.
Shreyas Iyer stabilizes middle order
Iyer’s innings of 80 came in 76 balls studded with 4 hits to the fence and another 4 outside that made the team recover from 160/4 to surpass the 300 run mark. However, it was Washington Sundar ( 37 of 16 balls) who was phenomenal towards the end that got Team India beyond the 300 run mark as the NZ bowlers yeilded 58 runs in the last 5 overs.
Umran Malik and Arshdeep Singh made their ODI debuts today as Team India took to the field with only one specialist spinner , Chahal who is expected to be supported by Washington Sundar.
With the ODI World Cup just 11 months away it’s time for the Indian Cricket Team to test it’s bench strength , here in NZ and with the tour of Bangladesh to follow. Sanju Samson looked solid for his almost run-a-ball 36( of 38 balls) and breathing down Rishab Pant’s neck who only managed to score a meagre 15 of 23 balls.
As the top order , comprised of Dhawan, Gill and Shreyas made a strong case for themselves as they are back amongst runs it’s now upto the debutants, Umran Malik and Arshdeep Singh to let the ball do the talking on their behalf as Team India look to seal the deal here in Auckland.
