New Zealand defeated India by seven wickets in the second ODI on Wednesday in Rajkot thanks to a calm, undefeated century from Daryl Mitchell (131) and his 162-run partnership with Will Young (87).
Mitchell led New Zealand to victory in 47.3 overs while chasing a challenging 285 on a slow pitch.
Earlier, KL Rahul led India to a challenging 284 for seven with a fierce 112.
With captain Shubhman Gil (56) and Rohit Sharma (24) scoring 70 runs for the first wicket, India got off to a strong start. However, Kiwi spinners took the lead with disciplined bowling in the middle overs.
Despite getting off to decent starts, Virat Kohli (23) and Ravindra Jadeja (27) were unable to turn them into significant knocks.
With 11 fours and two sixes in his tough, undefeated 112 off 92 balls, Rahul forged crucial partnerships in the second half and took control from the Kiwis, who had previously easily defeated India’s vaunted batting lineup.
India had fallen from 99 for one to 118 for four before the break, and New Zealand had taken control with discipline and a bit of luck. Rahul and others had to rebuild on a surface that remained difficult for batters because of its lack of pace and sporadic low bounce.
Shubman Gill, the captain, made another significant contribution with his second half-century in as many games (56 off 53).
Rohit Sharma (24) needed up to 11 balls to get off the ground with a single because the Kiwi fast bowlers dominated the early exchanges by keeping tight line and lengths.
Rohit appeared to be building up speed, as seen by a lofted drive over covers, but for the second time in as many games, he fell while attempting to clear the ropes with his bat twisting at the time of connection.
The ball went to the man at deep cover, who took a sitter off Kristian Clarke (3/56), but he was caught at mid on going inside-out in the first ODI. That was the only difference.
For Gill and Shreyas Iyer (8), a mistake each proved to be costly.
Despite having a poor start to the innings, Gill had adapted well to the pitch’s characteristics to accelerate his innings, hitting nine fours and a six over fine leg with a short-arm jab. However, Gill weakly dragged a slow, short ball that Kyle Jamieson had hammered into the pitch straight to Daryl Mitchell for a simple grab at midwicket, failing to read it.
Iyer, who too took some time to settle in, fell cheaply at mid-off after hitting a straight off Clarke to Bracewell.
But when a harmless delivery outside the off-stump took a thick inside edge and left Virat Kohli’s middle stump flattened, the joyous crowd at the Niranjan Shah Stadium fell silent. Kohli had started with a first-ball four, but his recent batting rhythm may have been impacted by frequent wickets at the other end. He had attempted to steer the ball behind the wickets but played it on.
Local star Ravindra Jadeja (27) entered the game to thunderous applause and contributed effectively to a 73-run partnership with Rahul for the fifth wicket as India needed consistency.
But as he smashed one back to Bracewell for a low grab, Jadeja was also defeated by one that stopped slightly on him.
Rahul added another 57 for the sixth wicket with Nitish Kumar Reddy (20) in line before the return all-rounder was also dismissed by a sluggish, short delivery from Zak Foulkes.
The series-deciding match will take place in Indore on Sunday.
