There were several questions before the fifth One-Day International for Team India, who got bundled out for a mere 92 in the fourth game. The absence of regular skipper Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni hurt India a lot and India’s batting-order couldn’t manage to survive against Trent Bolt’s swing. However, Dhoni’s return was confirmed on the eve of the match and it will boost India’s chances of doing well in the final game of the series.
Rohit Sharma won the toss and elected to bat first, what looked like a tough batting surface at the beginning. There were as many as three changes in the team with Dinesh Karthik, Kuldeep Yadav and Khaleel Ahmad making way for MS Dhoni, Mohammad Shami and Vijay Shankar.
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The start of the innings was similar with Hamilton and both the openers were back in the hut inside first six overs. However, it was Matt Henry who looked venomous today and rattled India’s top-order. Shubhman Gill had a second consecutive ordinary outing and got out for 7 runs. Dhoni was undone by a peach from Bolt for 1 and the ghost of Hamilton ODI was back to haunt India once again.
India was reeling at 18/4 when Ambati Rayudu and Vijay Shankar stitched a 98-run partnership together. Shankar was batting well and scored 45 off 64 balls before getting run out. Rayudu took this golden opportunity with both hands and scored 90 runs in 113 balls. This was his compose innings which rescued India’s ship. Hardik Pandya’s swashbuckling cameo (45 off 22) helped India to boost the score in death overs. The visitors finished their innings at 252/10 in 49.5 overs.
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Henry was the pick of the bowler and registered a figure of 4/35, while Bolt managed three wickets in the innings. Now, it will be interesting to see whether India’s bowling line-up can stand up in this situation and help India win the series by 4-1.
Here are some of the reactions on Twitter after India’s brilliant batting display:
New Zealand bowl India out in the last over!
Rayudu's gritty 90, useful contributions from Shankar and Jadhav, and Pandya's fiery 22-ball 45 lift the visitors to 252 in the final ODI.#NZvIND LIVE ⏬
https://t.co/pMY7C8YRkT pic.twitter.com/W2vlIqrzNB— ICC (@ICC) February 3, 2019
Great recovery by India. 252 after being 18/4. Well played Rayadu, Jadhav and Hardik. Given the bowlers something solid to work with. A winning total you think? #NZvsIND
— Gaurav Kapur (@gauravkapur) February 3, 2019
Dealing in sixes at the moment is #TeamIndia all-rounder @hardikpandya7 🔥🔥🔥
India 233/7 after 48 overs #NZvIND pic.twitter.com/DbpiJSFrJi
— BCCI (@BCCI) February 3, 2019
250+ totals by India after losing four wickets for less than 20 in ODI cricket:
266/8 from 9/4 vs Zimbabwe, 1983
252/10 from 18/4 vs New Zealand, Today#NZvIND— Sampath Bandarupalli (@SampathStats) February 3, 2019
Wish Yuzvendra Chahal top scores for India again!#NZvNZ
— Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) February 3, 2019
India have played 81 ODIs since the 2015 World Cup.
11 Indian batsmen tried at number four and no-one has batted at number four for more than 13 games.#NZvIND
— Suneer (@suneerchowdhary) February 3, 2019
https://twitter.com/BollywoodGandu/status/1091928842086694912
Another hat-trick of sixes by Hardik Pandya today. Fourth time he has hit 3 sixes off 3 balls in ODIs. The only other batsman to do it 4 times in the last two decades is AB de Villiers. #NZvInd
— Mazher Arshad (@MazherArshad) February 3, 2019
Three consecutive SIXES by Hardik Pandya in ODI cricket:
v Imad Wasim, CT17
v Shadab Khan, CT17
v Adam Zampa, 2017
v Todd Astle, Today #Pandya #IndvsNz— Rajinder kumar (@MRajinder) February 3, 2019
