Aakash Chopra, the former opener turned commentator has expressed his disappointment over New Zealand’s inability to make a match of it in the first international game in Raipur on Saturday (January 21).
Tom Latham and Co. were bowled out for only 108 after being asked to bat first in the second ODI against India. The Men in Blue then chased down the target with eight wickets and almost 30 overs to spare to complete an emphatic win and seal the three-match series ahead of the final game in Indore.
Aakash Chopra was Shocked To See New Zealand Starting Ordinarily In The 2nd ODI And Reckons That At 9/3 It Looked Like A Football Score
Finn Allen was castled by Mohammad Shami before the visitors had a run on the board. Mohammed Siraj then had Henry Nicholls caught by Shubman Gill at first slip before Mohammed Shami took Daryl Mitchell’s return catch to reduce the Kiwis to 9-3 after 6.1 overs.
While reviewing the game in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra lambasted the visitors for their dismal batting performance, saying: “It was the first international match on the Raipur ground. I had great hopes that it would be an amazing match because obviously, it has got another charm. But what is this – 108 runs, what are you doing?”
Aakash Chopra added that the initial scoreline made it seem like a football game, explaining: “The start was extremely ordinary. Finn Allen was dismissed off the fifth ball of the first over and then they became 9-3. We were saying – Is it a cricket match or a football score? The difference was that whoever has nine against their name is winning there, here the scale was tilted towards those who had three against their name.”
Mohammed Shami’s reassuring presence is extremely vital in India’s ODI set-up at a time when Indian pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah has been unavailable mostly due to injury. On Saturday, Mohammed Shami proved his worth yet again, destroying the opposition New Zealand’s top-order and was awarded Man of the Match for picking 3/18 in the 2nd ODI.
Swinging the ball like a banana while slipping in the odd bouncer, he could have added to his tally, and perhaps bagged a fifer too, but the Kiwis folded up way too early managing only 107 runs. There was some help for the Indian seamers on a pitch which was still a bit damp, but Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur, and Hardik Pandya still deserve credit for bowling a nagging line and length.
Like most seniors, Mohammed Shami seems to have been eased out of India’s T20I side. In the other two formats, though, he still remains India’s go-to bowler and has plenty left in the tank. If he keeps firing like he did on Saturday, India will have plenty to cheer about.
New Zealand folded for 108 in under 35 overs in the second ODI before Rohit Sharma led the chase with a 50-ball 51. After a thrilling last-over finish in the 1st ODI in Hyderabad, India romped to an eight-wicket victory in Raipur on the back of an inspired performance from their quick bowlers to take the series 2-0 with one match to go.
Aakash Chopra Reckons It Was A Pretty Ordinary Batting Performance From New Zealand
Stifling Test-match style bowling from Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj caused the early damage, after India won the toss, to reduce New Zealand to 9 for 3. Hardik Pandya bowled three maidens and picked up 2 for 16 from six overs as New Zealand slipped to 15 for 5, with their top five falling in single digits, after 10.3 overs before they recovered somewhat.
Aakash Chopra pointed out that the wickets kept falling like ninepins, elaborating: “The wickets did not stop falling after that. Devon Conway was still standing, I was expecting him to play well but Hardik Pandya took an amazing return catch. Daryl Mitchell was caught and bowled, and Latham was dismissed by Thakur. We saw an extremely ordinary batting performance.
The cricketer-turned-commentator concluded by highlighting that all the Indian bowlers were among the wickets, observing : “Mohammed Shami picked up three wickets; Hardik Pandya and Washington Sundar took two wickets apiece, and Siraj, Shardul Thakur and Kuldeep Yadav picked up one wicket apiece. This is a really one-sided event.”
Veteran pacer Mohammed Shami finished with figures of 3-18 in six overs. Glenn Phillips (36), Mitchell Santner (27) and Michael Bracewell (22) were the only New Zealand batters to reach the double-digit mark.
India’s batters followed up a relentless performance from their pacers by chasing down a target of 109 in just over 20 overs with eight wickets to spare. Rohit Sharma scored 51 off 50 balls while Shubman Gill, who hit the winning runs, remained unbeaten on 40 off 53. India dismissed New Zealand for 108 with all six of their bowlers taking at least one wicket.
India’s domination started with a display of swing and seam with great accuracy to bowl New Zealand out for 108 in under 35 overs in an international debut for the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium.
India chased it down in 20.1 overs after a 51 off 50 from captain Rohit Sharma, who struck seven fours and two sixes before Shubman Gill and Ishan Kishan saw the hosts through. It was India’s seventh consecutive bilateral ODI series win at home.
India 111 for 2 (Rohit 51, Gill 40*) beat New Zealand 108 (Phillips 36, Shami 3-18, Washington 2-7, Hardik 2-16) by eight wickets