India continued their winning run as they beat New Zealand in the 2nd ODI at Bay Oval on Saturday by 90 runs. Kuldeep Yadav, who had picked up four wickets in the first ODI, remained the star performer for the men in blue, as he once again took four wickets to clean up New Zealand’s middle order. The chinaman dismissed Tom Latham, Henry Nicholls, Colin de Grandhomme and Ish Sodhi as the visitors bowled out the hosts for 234 in the 325-run chase.
Yadav finished with 4/45 in his full quota of 10 overs. MS Dhoni’s lightning quick work behind the stumps was also on display as the former skipper combined with Kedar Jadhav to script Ross Taylor’s dismissal. Yuzvendra Chahal and Bhuvneshwar Kumar picked up two wickets each, while Mohammed Shami got the precious wicket of Kiwis skipper Kane Williamson, which was deemed as the turning point of the match.
Doug Bracewell played an excellent late cameo, scoring 57 runs in 46 balls. But it was not enough for the hosts to reach even closer to win.
Coming on to bat, India were given a strong start by the openers Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan. The duo stitched their 14th 100-run partnership as they added 154 runs for the first wicket. But despite scoring fifties each, they both were unable to convert it to centuries, as they were dismissed by the seamers Trent Boult and Lockie Ferguson, respectively. Sharma, who made 87 runs was awarded the man of the match for his performance and laying the foundation for India’s massive total.
India captain Virat Kohli settled for a bit along with Ambati Rayudu but the former was dismissed for 43 by a short delivery from Boult. Rayudu scored 47 runs, as he and MS Dhoni took India past 250.
The wicketkeeper-batsman carried on and scored 48 runs in 33 balls. Kedar Jadhav played a crucial cameo as he hammered 21 runs in 10 balls to take India’s total to 324/4 in 50 overs. With the win, India have taken a 2-0 lead in the 5-match ODI series against New Zealand.
The two teams will meet again for the third ODI on Monday. It will be Kohli’s final game on the tour.
