INDIA WIN SECOND ODI

December 2nd, 2010 by Ravi Matah | Posted in Sports   Comments Off on INDIA WIN SECOND ODI
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Gautam Gambhir won the toss and elected to field at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium at Jaipur in the 2nd ODI against New Zealand on Wednesday. India managed to restrict New Zealand to a score of 258 runs for 8 wickets  with Sreesanth doing most of the damage, who took 4 wickets for 47 runs. The bowlers having done their job, Gambhir replied with a chanceless 138* to guide India home. He was ably supported by Virat Kohli who got out at 64 and now has two centuries and a half-century on the trot. 

Gautam Gambhir

Gautam Gambhir

This was Gambhir’s first century in almost a year and it was decorated with 18 boundaries to the fence and a six. Gambhir was timing the ball to perfection and was well supported by an in-form Kohli at the other end, India’s hundred was up in the 20th over. 

Earlier, Sreesanth consumed Howe but Williamson and Guptill stood ground to produce a half-century stand and Munaf Patel then removed Williamson. Guptill played very well for his 70 runs but New Zealand did not get a rocking start and so could not reach the desired 300 run target. Ross Taylor was out to a ball which he misread from Yusuf Pathan and later R Ashwin removed Guptill. 

Styris powered his way to a breezy 59 off 56 balls with the help of five fours and a huge six, while Vettori contributed 31 off 32, an innings that included four hits to the fence. 

Sreesanth, who returned to bowl the next spell later in the innings, did not allow Styris and Daniel Vettori to trod past the desired 300 mark and took two wickets with his first two deliveries. He got rid of Styris and Vettori and McCullum denied a hat trick to him. 

Munaf Patel, Yusuf Pathan and Ravichandran Ashwin took a wicket each even as opener Martin Guptill played the sheet-anchor’s role to perfection. 

Virat Kohli, after his match-winning hundred in the series opener in Guwahati compiled a neat 64 off 73 balls.  Ross Taylor produced a blinder at short midwicket to send Kohli back, the issue was more or less sealed. 

Murali Vijay, meanwhile, sent Vettori over the midwicket region but soon got out to the New Zealand skipper while going for a  sweep.

 India had two fruitful partnerships, Gambhir and Murali Vijay gave the hosts a solid start putting on 87 runs for the first wicket, before Kohli joined the captain to forge a century stand. 

New Zealand opened their attack with Nathan McCullum, presumably to get through some overs of spin before dew appeared, and immediately troubled M Vijay, who struggled to come to terms with the slowness of the pitch. 

Gambhir, however, was playing in a different world. He timed almost everything sweetly except for a couple of inside edges that went for fours. Against Kyle Mills, he walked down the pitch on a couple of occasions to create the driving length. When Mills pitched slightly short, he cut him away. The driving between mid-off and extra cover stood out.

First change Munaf Patel, coming in for Ashish Nehra, impressed immediately, posing some serious questions to Guptill and Williamson. 

Maintaining a good line and length instead of bowling flat out, Munaf was rewarded for his discretion when he went through the gate of Williamson in his fourth over. 

India got a 2-0 lead in the 5 match ODI series. India played the same team which had played the previous ODI at Guwahati but New Zealand had made two changes – Vittori and Southee came in for Tuffy and Elliot. 

Gautam Gambhir was awarded the Man of the Match medallion and a cheque for Rs. 100.000.

Ravi Matah.

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