INDIA BEAT NEW ZEALAND BY SIX WICKETS IN 2ND ODI
SECOND ODI Bhuvi sets ball rolling for bowlers’ domination; Shikhar, Karthik seal win to push series into decider
PUNE: Shikhar Dhawan and Dinesh Karthik struck half-centuries after an all-round display from bowlers to guide India to a six-wicket win over New Zealand on Wednesday. The win at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium helped level the three-match series 1-1.
The day started with drama as cricket authorities sacked Pune pitch curator, Pandurang Salgaonkar, following his claims in a TV sting where reporters allegedly posed as bookies.
New Zealand, flying high after their impressive victory in the first match in Mumbai, elected to bat but were restricted to 230/9 and the Indian batsmen guided the hosts to 232/4 with four overs to spare.
Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli (29) steered the ship despite losing Rohit Sharma (7) early. They provided the perfect launchpad by putting up 57 runs for the second wicket with boundaries and sixes flowing. However, the Indian skipper’s stay was cut short as he was caught behind while trying to cut a wide ball.
It not only silenced the jampacked crowd, but also slowed the run rate. Dhawan reached his half-century and followed it up with a six, but moments later miscued Adam Milne to find Ross Taylor at short cover.
KARTHIK’S KNOCK
Karthik at the other end took his sweet time to settle down, reaching a patient half-century while all-rounder Hardik Pandya took charge to keep the chase in sight. It was an understandable ploy in a must-win game — keep rotating the strike — but it bored the 25,000-odd crowd that was subdued as Karthik raised the bat.
They hadn’t run out of energy though as four balls later, when Pandya was dismissed for a 31-ball 30, chants of “Dhoni, Dhoni” reverberated in the stands. He didn’t disappoint, hitting three boundaries to see off the chase.
New Zealand got off to a horrid start as they lost their top three batsmen in the first seven overs. The responsibility of bailing the team out fell on the in-form Tom Latham (38) and Ross Taylor (21) again. While the duo that raised a 200-run stand in Mumbai did spend quality time in the middle, they could add only 29 runs before Taylor was caught behind.
Tom Lat ham and Henry Nicholls (42) then fell back on the traditional mantra of sticking around to keep the scoreboard ticking. After the initial blitz provided by Bhuvneshwar Kumar– he dismissed both openers Martin Guptill and Colin Munro -- and Jasprit Bumrah, the spin trio of Kedar Jadhav, Axar Patel and Yuzvendra Chahal further tightened the screws, quashing any hopes of a run fest.
WE HAVE TO REMEMBER THAT PAKISTAN ALONG WITH INDIA CAME TO SRI LANKA WHEN AUSTRALIA AND WEST INDIES REFUSED TO COME HERE FOR THE 1996 WORLD CUP > DAYASIRI JAYASEKARA, Sri Lanka sports minister, on why the islanders are travelling to Pakistan