IND VS NZ 2nd ODI: Mohammad Shami, Rohit Sharma Shine as India win 7th ODI series in a row at home in Raipur

Second IND VS NZ ODI: India defeated New Zealand by eight wickets in the first-ever ODI at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium in Raipur on Saturday. With the win, India took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series, winning their seventh ODI series in a row at home. It is also India’s seventh straight ODI series win against New Zealand at home.

Moreover, New Zealand suffered their worst first five-wicket collapse in ODI cricket history after losing their first five wickets for just 15 runs against India in the second ODI in Raipur. New Zealand lost their fifth wicket in the 11th over. Their previous worst first five-wicket collapse (18 runs) had come against Sri Lanka in Colombo in 2001.

Skier Rohit Sharma applauds his contingent for over the top bowling display

In the post-match interview, Rohit Sharma explained how the bowlers have stepped up a notch to produce wickets at any given point.

“The last five games, bowlers have really stepped up. Whatever we have asked of them, they have stepped up and delivered. You don’t usually see this type of seam movement in India, you generally see it outside India, said Sharma.”

These guys have some serious skills, they work really hard and it’s great to see them being rewarded. We trained yesterday and the ball was nipping around under lights (on toss). We knew that if they had 250 or so, it might have been challenging for us but that was the point of opting to chase. We batted first in the last game, so the idea was to challenge ourselves and bowl first. Not sure what I’ll do at Indore.

Rohit Sharma concluded by saying, “the confidence is high within the group and that’s great to see. They (Shami and Siraj) were raring to keep bowling long spells but I reminded them that there is a Test series coming up as well, so we need to take care of themselves as well. They always want to continue but I have to step in and draw a line and say ‘Boss, there are other bowlers as well.’”

IND VS NZ 2nd ODI: Brief Highlights

Rohit decided to bowl first and the Indian seamer M Shami(3/18 in 6 overs) provided the team a wicket in the very first over after which each bowler who was given the ball accounted for at least a wicket. The 47-run stand between G Phillips(36 off 52) and M Santner(27 off 39) looked reviving but it was short-lived and the team succumbed to a total of just 108 runs in 34.3 overs. With the bat, the Indian batters Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill did their part and chased the target with overs 29 odd overs remaining. Previous game’s centurion Gill scored a decent 40 not out, while captain Sharma played a confident innings of 51 off 50 balls.

Moreover, the final ODI match will be played on Tuesday 24th of January in Indore’s Holkar Stadium. Which will be followed by a three-match T20I series.

Also read: Watch: Rohit Sharma forgets what to do after winning Toss against NZ in 2nd ODI

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