AUCKLAND: New Zealand exorcised the ghost of a nightmarish T20 whitewash with a series-clinching 22- run triumph against India in the 2nd ODI on Saturday as the visitors paid the price for bad shot choice.
Vengeance as they say is a meal best served cold and on a cold Auckland night, New Zealand safeguarded a total of 273 by limiting India to 251 in 48.3 overs taking an undisputable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
The victory also completed a hat-trick of ODI wins for the Black Caps beginning with their World Cup semi-final win in Manchester in 2015.
The win was more trustworthy as routine skipper Kane Williamson together with leading bowlers Trent Boult and Lockie Ferguson were unavailable.
New Zealand’s 6 foot 8 inch debutant Kyle Jamieson (2/42 and 25 off 24 balls) got the ‘Player of the Match’ award for his all-round show.
Hard day at the office but fantastic character revealed by #TeamIndia. #NZvIND https://t.co/jgyz9YyhYt
— BCCI (@BCCI) 1581157221000
” I’m pleased with how we ended up. We let things slip away from 197/ 8 to 270 plus in the very first half however came back strongly with the second half of our batting. We remained in difficulty with the bat, but Saini and Jadeja played truly well, as did Shreyas,” skipper Virat Kohli stated at the post-match discussion.
In fact the skipper felt that ODIs are less pertinent in a T20 World Champion year.
” ODIs aren’t too relevant this ye