Virat Kohli is the heartbeat of Indian cricket. As long as he is at the crease, there is hope of victory once he departs, anxiety takes over. India did manage to win the first ODI against New Zealand, riding on Kohli’s brilliant 93, but not without concerns. In the final phase, KL Rahul played the role of a finisher, while Harshit Rana’s aggressive batting made India’s task easier. Chasing a target of 300, India eventually won by four wickets to take a 1–0 lead in the three-match ODI series.
India generally does not enjoy great luck at the toss, but in Baroda, fortune favoured Shubman Gill. New Zealand’s decision to bowl first after winning the toss raised no eyebrows. The visitors started strongly, and questions soon arose over whether leaving out Arshdeep Singh was a mistake. Devon Conway and Henry Nicholls took New Zealand past 100 within 20 overs.
Harshit Rana provided the first breakthrough. He has faced plenty of criticism, with claims that he gets opportunities due to being Gautam Gambhir’s “favourite.” However, Rana continues to prove why he is trusted. He dismissed Nicholls (62) by tempting him outside off stump, and soon after removed Conway (56). Mohammed Siraj chipped in with the wickets of Will Young and Zachary Foulkes. Despite wickets falling at the other end, Daryl Mitchell kept the scoreboard ticking before being dismissed for 84 by Prasidh Krishna. New Zealand eventually posted 300.
There was no major danger on the Baroda pitch, and dew was expected to trouble the New Zealand bowlers and it did. Fielding lapses didn’t help either, as Glenn Phillips and Daryl Mitchell dropped catches, one of them off Shubman Gill (56). The Indian captain scored a half-century but did not look entirely comfortable. Rohit Sharma (26) got a start but failed to convert, holing out after looking promising.
But Kohli was there. Whenever he walks in, records follow. Though he broke one of Sachin Tendulkar’s records on the day, he missed out on becoming the highest ODI run-scorer against New Zealand. Still, he crossed the landmark of 28,000 international runs across formats. As long as Kohli stayed, India breathed easy. Once he fell just seven runs short of a century the Indian batting seemed to wobble. Ravindra Jadeja and Shreyas Iyer followed soon after. Returning from injury, Iyer narrowly missed a half-century, and his dismissal triggered fears of a collapse.
Kyle Jamieson’s pace and bounce, along with Zachary Foulkes’ medium pace, troubled the Indian batters. Questions were raised over Gautam Gambhir’s decision to send Jadeja ahead of KL Rahul. Yet another gamble paid off. With Washington Sundar injured, Harshit Rana came in at No. 7 and played a crucial knock of 29 off 23 balls. Sundar later batted despite his injury.
Once again, KL Rahul proved his dependability, regardless of where he bats. Under pressure, he kept his calm, took the game deep, and sealed the match in the final over hitting 4, 4, and 6 off the last three balls of the 49th over to take India home.
