Team India’s winning spree in home ODIs continues with a 12-run victory over New Zealand in the 3-match series opener in Hyderabad on Wednesday. Shubman Gill’s scintillating double hundred powered the hosts to a challenging 349 for 8 in 50 overs which was later challenged by Michael Bracewell’s century. But eventually, the Indian bowlers managed to bowl out the Kiwis for 337, winning the game with 4 balls to spare.
Despite setting the visitors a mammoth target, the game had a close finish. The 162-run stand between Bracewell and Mitchell Santner, who scored a half-century, frustrated the hosts for a brief period of time. Ultimately, it was the local boy Mohammed Siraj who picked up a couple of wickets in quick succession, shifting the momentum in India’s favour.
Speaking at the post-match presentation, Indian captain Rohit Sharma lauded Bracewell’s knock of 140 off just 78 balls. He further added that good bowling was always going to save them unless too many runs aren’t leaked.
“To be honest, the way he (Bracewell) was batting and the way it came on to the bat nicely, it was clean ball-striking. We knew that if we bowled well, we would be okay unless we really slipped up with the ball. Unfortunately, that’s what happened. I did say at the toss that I’d like to see us challenge ourselves, not quite the situation I expected but that’s how it is,” Rohit said at the post-match presser.
The Indian captain reserved massive praise on his batting partner Shubman Gill who became the youngest male batter to get an ODI double-hundred, peeping Ishan Kishan’s record. Rohit mentioned that Gill’s form compelled the team management to get him in the playing XI in the Sri Lanka ODIs.
“He (Gill) is going really well. The form he was in, we wanted to make use of it and that’s why we backed him in the SL series. Free-flowing batter and it’s quite exciting to watch,” he said.
Siraj was the pick of the bowlers, returning figures of 4 for 46 in 10 overs. Lauding the speedster’s performance, Rohit said, “Siraj has been brilliant, not just in this game but in the red-ball, T20 format and now ODIs. Really good to see what he does with the ball. Executing what he wants to do and he is very clear about his plans. Which is how it should be.”
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