London: Indian batting line-up’s soft underbelly lay exposed in slightly favourable bowling conditions as New Zealand gave a rude wake-up call, winning the first warm-up game ahead of the World Cup by six wickets here Saturday.
Under overcast conditions, Trent Boult’s (4/33) incisive swing bowling was a test of technique for the Indian top-order batsmen and the Men In Blue never recovered from an early collapse, being bowled out for 179 in 39.2 overs.
However, it was a walk in the park for the ‘Black Caps’ as they reached the target in only 37.1 overs with Kane Williamson (67) and Ross Taylor (71) helping themselves to half-centuries.
While it was a warm-up game and the outcome of the result isn’t something that India would be bothered too much but what certainly would keep them worried is the failure to find a solution for their problems.
KL Rahul (six) failed at No.4, Dinesh Karthik’s (four) poor IPL form continued while Vijay Shankar and Kedar Jadhav’s respective injuries in all likelihood would prevent the team management from checking them out against Bangladesh in the second warm-up game at Cardiff.
The two wrist spinners — Kuldeep Yadav (0/44) and Yuzvendra Chahal (1/37), who have gone off the boil in the past few months – also didn’t make much of an impact.
A sub-200 total meant that Williamson and Taylor, during their 114-run stand, hardly took risk against the duo, getting run-a-ball with minimum fuss. For India, Ravindra Jadeja’s decent show (54, 50b, 6×4, 2×6; 1/27) was the only silver lining.
It was Boult’s first spell which saw openers Rohit Sharma (two) and Shikhar Dhawan (two) along with Rahul being dismissed that proved to be decisive in overcast conditions.
Skipper Virat Kohli (18) found his defence breached by Colin de Grandhomme’s (1/12) off-cutter trying to play across the line.
Jadeja’s half-century ensured a 175-plus score for the ‘Men in Blue’ after being reduced to 115/8 at one stage. His 62-run ninth-wicket stand with Kuldeep Yadav (19) was the only saving grace for India in an otherwise disappointing batting performance.
When New Zealand batted, Jasprit Bumrah (4-2-2-1) bowled a testing first spell and Mohammed Shami (4-0-16-0) also found the right length, which will be a positive that Kohli and Co. can take from this game.
Brief scores: India 179 (Ravindra Jadeja 54, Hardik Pandya 30; Trent Boult 4/33, Jimmy Neesham 3/26) lost to New Zealand 180/4 (Ross Taylor 71, Kane Willianson 67) in 37.1 overs by six wickets.
