The stand-in Indian skipper, Rohit Sharma gave no excuse for the poor batting display from India in the fourth ODI against New Zealand in Hamilton on Thursday. Batting first, India was bundled out for a meager total of 92, which was their seventh lowest total in ODI history.
Thanks to a devastating spell of fast bowling from Trent Boult, India were left in danger of posting their lowest ever ODI total before the lower order saved them the blushes. Boult finished with figures of 5/21 – the second best by a New Zealand bowler against India in the format.
Talking about the loss, Rohit said, “One of our worst performances with the bat for a long time. [It’s] something we didn’t expect. You got to give credit to the New Zealand bowlers. It was a magnificent effort. Something to learn for us. At times, you need to absorb pressure. We need to blame ourselves for it. Things were looking good at that stage. It was about applying ourselves. Once you get in, things will start to look easier. We played some bad shots as well. It’s always challenging when the ball is swinging.”
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New Zealand chased down the target of 93 runs in 14.4 overs with 212 deliveries to spare (biggest defeat for India in terms balls remaining).
Describing the same, Rohit said, “We’ve been having a good run in the limited formats for a number of series. Everyone knows what went wrong. There will be times when it swings and we need to deal with it. When you are playing for your country, you try to give your best. Good teams usually keep ticking the boxes and today we didn’t tick the right boxes.”
After New Zealand had lost the third ODI on Monday, skipper Kane Williamson had said India was teaching his men a lesson. Three days later, the Black Caps bounced back to show they had learned their lesson well. The series is lost but aided by swing, New Zealand played for pride and delivered.
WATCH – 5-wicket Haul Of Trent Boult In The Hamilton ODI
Describing his thoughts after the win during the post-match presentation, Williamson said, “Nice to restrict them to a 90-odd total. It stood up a little bit and nipped a bit. It spun as well. Credit to the areas the guys bowled. We always wanted early wickets, to be able to that was a real step in the right direction. It was swinging, that was a weapon we wanted to use. Because we were able to put India under pressure, we were able to pick regular wickets. We exploited the conditions really well and chased down nicely as well. We always play to win and today was an outstanding performance.”
India and New Zealand now travel to Wellington for the fifth and final ODI on Sunday. The Black Caps will hope for another win to end the series with a respectable margin of 3-2.
Trent Boult was named man-of-the-match for his figures of 5 for 21. He said it was pleasing to exploit the conditions as well as he did. He explained, “It was nice to see the bowling swinging. To make the most of the conditions was very pleasing. Colin de Grandhomme from the other end bowled ten overs on-the-trot as well. It was Nice to bowl them out cheaply. It’s pretty simple on a wicket like this. Pitch it up and target the stumps. We will put on a similar performance hopefully in the next game and make it 3-2.”
