Mumbai: New Zealand batsmen showed clinical efficiency in a tricky chase to spoil Virat Kohli’s milestone match with a comfortable six-wicket victory over India in the opening ODI match, here Sunday.
For the ‘Black Caps’, young gun Tom Latham (103 n o, 102b, 8×4, 2×6) and senior pro Ross Taylor (95, 100b, 8×4)batted with lot of purpose, chasing down a target of 281 in 49 overs with minimum fuss. New Zealand led three-match series 1-0.
This was after Virat Kohli (121, 125b, 9×4, 2×6) showed his class with a gutsy 31st hundred in his 200th ODI in energy-sapping conditions to take India to 280 for eight in 50 overs. None of the other Indian batsmen even crossed 40-run mark.
During New Zealand’s chase, Taylor and Latham came together at 80 for three with India trying to drive home the advantage but their 200-run stand for the fourth wicket proved to be a clincher in the end.
The Indian bowling attack didn’t have a plan B despite the wicket being not so conducive for batting. The best part about the New Zealand run-chase was that they achieved the target without taking undue risks.
They did not try to attack spin duo of Kuldeep Yadav (1/64) and Yuzvendra Chahal (0/51) taking all the singles and doubles on offer with occasional boundary for the taking. They either used their stretch to play the sweep shot and on occasions waited for the turn to play the late cuts as the 20 overs by the spin twins yielded 125 runs but more improtantly, they only lost one wicket.
Earlier, skipper Kohli made it a memorable 200th ODI with a record breaking century in demanding conditions to guide India to a respectable total. Kohli mixed caution with aggression hitting his 31st hundred in the 50-over format, that took him past former Australian captain Ricky Ponting as the second highest ton-getter in this format.
Coming to bat in the fourth over, Kohli was finally dismissed in the 50th over after he had successfully steered his team to safety after they were reduced to 71 for three in just shade above 15 overs. Credit should also be given to Bhuvneshwar Kumar (26, 15b), whose unbeaten cameo helped India cross the 275-run mark.
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