New Zealand vs India, 5th ODI - Who Said What

Despite being down and out at 18/4 after opting to bat first in Wellington, Team India managed to post a fighting total of 252 runs on the board after 50 overs. Ambati Rayudu played a brilliant innings of 90 runs to shut the debate of the number four batsman for the World Cup not for the first time. He was well supported by Vijay Shankar who scored 45 runs and was run-out in a mix-up with Rayudu.

Kedar Jadhav once again showed his value down the order but got out at the wrong when the team’s score was 203 in the 46th over of the innings. This is where Hardik Pandya took it upon himself to end the innings in style. He took a special liking to Todd Astle who was given the 47th over and was taken for a hat-trick of sixes. James Neesham and Trent Boult also faced the heat in the last couple of overs.

After scoring 45 off just 22 balls, Neesham’s full toss got better of Pandya after which India’s innings was folded quickly in the final over for just 252 runs.

Kiwis struggle again

Colin Munro and Henry Nicholls opened the innings today for New Zealand and the latter was undone early by Mohammed Shami and the Munro was once again snaffled by the same bowler not for the first time in this series. Kane Williamson wasn’t given a sniff to score quick runs and the pressure told on him right through his knock. His dogged knock of 39 off 73 balls was brought to an end by none other than Kedar Jadhav.

Since then, the wickets kept falling at the regular intervals and only threatened to overhaul the target when James Neesham went berserk off Bhuvneshwar Kumar. However, MS Dhoni’s brilliance undid him and then it was only one-way traffic. The tail-enders only reduced the margin of the defeat as New Zealand were bundled out for 217 runs in the 45th over.

Man of the Match, Ambati Rayudu said:

It was very tough against a quality bowling attack. Was thinking we should take the game to 30th over without losing another wicket. Our only plan was to play the full fifty overs. Especially for people batting at four, five and six, you get opportunities only when the situation is tough.

Don’t think setting totals has ever been an issue. That was a one-off game in Hamilton. Might face similar challenges in future. Great effort by our bowlers.

India captain, Rohit Sharma said:

Especially after the Hamilton loss, that was a big loss for us the way we lost there. At the toss I said we needed to come together as a team and we did that. Four down, we needed someone to apply, and Rayudu and Vijay Shankar did that.

The way Hardik and Kedar played was magnificent. We showed a lot of character. With the ball as well. The wicket got flat at the end, with the dew. At one point it looked like it would be an easy chase. But lot of people put their hands up and got us through.

I knew there was some moisture in the pitch. If the series was on the line, I would’ve batted second. Wasn’t easy after losing four wickets at the start. Thought 250 was a very good score on that pitch. Bowlers got crucial breakthroughs at critical times.

When you want to win games, you’ve got to find the right balance. Coming here and beating NZ at home wasn’t going to be easy. This is a great achievement for us.

New Zealand captain, Kane Williamson said:

It was a different surface which certainly was a challenge. We saw that with the ball in hand. Got away from us towards the end which probably took them at par or probably more. Scoring rate never got away from us but it was just that we lost wickets at the wrong time.

They did it pretty well through Rayudu with 90. For long parts they didn’t score. We knew it was going to be tough. We know how well India bowl on any surface. Their accuracy.

If we could’ve taken the partnerships deeper, like with Tom Latham and myself, it could’ve been different. Credit to India throughout this series. They’ve taught us a few lessons in our own conditions. They’re a world class outfit, they deserve the series win.

We need to learn from these lessons. It’s a game of pressure. Throughout this series, they had us under more pressure than we would’ve liked.

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