Following his side’s 12-run win over New Zealand in the first ODI, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma admitted that his team “slipped up with the ball”. A top-class bowling effort from Mohammed Siraj outweighed Michael Bracewell’s heroic ton and partnership with Mitchell Santner as India overcame a late onslaught from these two all-rounders to clinch a 12-run win over New Zealand in the first match of the three-match series at Hyderabad on Wednesday.
“To be honest, the way he (Bracewell) was batting and the way it came on to the bat nicely, it was clean ball-striking. We knew that if we bowl well, we would be okay unless we really slipped up with the ball. Unfortunately, that’s what happened. I did say at the toss that I would like to see us challenge ourselves, not quite the situation I expected but that’s how it is,” said Rohit during a post-match presentation.
The skipper also lauded Shubman Gill, who scored an explosive double ton and pacer Mohammed Siraj for their performances in the match. “He (Gill) is going really well. The form he was in, we wanted to make use of it and that’s why we backed him in the SL series. Free-flowing batter and it is quite exciting to watch. Siraj has been brilliant, not just in this game but in the red-ball, T20 format and now ODIs. Really good to see what he does with the ball. Executing what he wants to do and he is very clear about his plans. Which is how it should be,” concluded Rohit.
Coming to the match, India posted 349/8 in 50 overs. Gill top scored with a knock of 208 runs. Skipper Rohit Sharma (34), Suryakumar Yadav (31) and Hardik Pandya (28) also played some valuable knocks.
All-rounder Daryl Mitchell was the pick of the bowlers for Kiwis with 2/30. Henry Shipley took two wickets, while Lockie Ferguson, Blair Tickner and Mitchell Santner picked a wicket each.
Chasing 351, Indian bowlers dominated Kiwis initially, reducing them to 131/6, with opener Finn Allen (40) being a notable contributor.
But a seventh-wicket stand between Michael Bracewell and Mitchell Santner changed everything. The batters thrashed Indian bowlers all over the park. Bracewell scored his second ODI ton, while Santner also scored a half-century.
But Mohammed Siraj, after taking early wickets, helped India make a comeback, dismissing Santner for 57 and breaking the 162-run stand. With 20 runs needed in final over, Shardul Thakur dismissed Bracewell for a valiant 140 off 78 balls, consisting of 12 fours and 10 sixes.
India won the match by 12 runs and took a series lead of 1-0. Shubman Gill won the ‘Man of the Match’ for his double ton.
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