India 259 for 2 (Gambhir 138*,
Kohli 64*) beat New Zealand 258
for 8 (Guptill 70, Styris 59,
Sreesanth 4-47) by eight wickets
Gautam Gambhir's bowlers
responded well to his call of
bowling first, restricting New
Zealand with smart, accurate
bowling, and the captain
reciprocated with a fluent 138
off 116 balls to make the chase
look easy.
Gambhir, capping off a return to
form that began with a
struggling Test fifty in Hyderabad
last month, never let his strike-
rate come under 100 once he
crossed the mark in the sixth
over. He had for company an
equally hungry Virat Kohli, who
now has two centuries and a fifty
in his last three international
outings.
Dew, expected later in the
evening, was the reason why
India put New Zealand in on a
cracking surface, but the towels
were conspicuous by absence in
the second half of the game.
Which is what made the bowling
effort special.
The pitch played slow and low,
and India cut out the pace and
the room. There was nothing
spectacular done with the ball,
just accurate, wicket to wicket
bowling for most of the part.
Martin Guptill and Scott Styris
tried to take New Zealand
towards a fighting total with
important fifties, but India pulled
the visitors back every time they
threatened to break free.
New Zealand began with three
boundaries in the first two overs,
but Sreesanth's late swing
removed Jamie How. Guptill and
Kane Williamson looked solid
but subdued in a 50-run stand
for the second wicket. Those
runs took 12.5 overs coming - all
but seven of those deliveries in
the Powerplay.
The duo did little to upset the
bowlers' rhythm. Munaf Patel
was allowed to hit the same spot
again and again, with slight seam
movement either way. One of
those moved a bit more than
expected, and found a way
through Williamson's bat and
pad, taking the top of off. The
pressure showed when Ross
Taylor went to hit Yusuf Pathan's
first delivery for a six, but found
deep midwicket.
Styris came out in the 25th over
with the score yet to reach three
figures, and cut out the
unproductive balls, taking singles
with ease and finding timely
boundaries. When he and Guptill
asked for the Powerplay in the
35th over, R Ashwin responded
with a carrom balls to remove
Guptill. That set New Zealand
back by a couple of overs.
Styris and Daniel Vettori had to
take some time set up another
charge, but Sreesanth pegged
them back again. Like he did in
the first match of the series,
Sreesanth came back for a new
spell in the 46th over, and took
two wickets with his first two
deliveries. He ended a
threatening ninth-wicket
partnership in the last game, and
got rid of Styris and Vettori this
time.
New Zealand opened their
defence 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.
By the end of the eighth over,
Gambhir had scored four times
Vijay's eight, taking India to 40,
and putting Mills out of the
attack. Against Styris he made
room and went over extra cover.
Andy McKay strayed too straight,
and was clipped for four into the
leg side. There was not a hint of
power; the short back lift
emphasised how well he timed
the ball.
Vijay continued his patchy
innings until he tried a
premeditated slog-sweep off
Vettori in the 18th over, and was
bowled. Gambhir, though, had
reached 54 off 48 by then, out
of India's 87, and looked set to
carry India through. A crucial
moment came in the 22nd over
when Gambhir's bat got stuck
into the ground as he tried to
slide it in, but Vettori failed to
collect the throw cleanly and
Gambhir was let off.
Every time Gambhir needed
quick runs, he made room and
went over extra cover. Kohli
batted like he was never
dismissed in Guwahati, pulling
powerfully wide of long-on, and
punching square for most of his
runs. Over by over, the 116-run
partnership brought the asking
rate down, until it read 4.3 for
the last 13 overs when Kohli
found short midwicket with a
pull shot.
It was a distraught batsman that
left the wicket, 36 short of a
third straight century, which was
possible with 56 still required. His
captain and a senior back in
Delhi, though, was there to see
India home and continue their
unbeaten home season.
India v New Zealand, 2nd ODI, Jaipur Gambhir, bowlers make it 2-0
India 259 for 2 (Gambhir 138*,
Kohli 64*) beat New Zealand 258
for 8 (Guptill 70, Styris 59,
Sreesanth 4-47) by eight wickets
Gautam Gambhir's bowlers
responded well to his call of
bowling first, restricting New
Zealand with smart, accurate
bowling, and the captain
reciprocated with a fluent 138
off 116 balls to make the chase
look easy.
Gambhir, capping off a return to
form that began with a
struggling Test fifty in Hyderabad
last month, never let his strike-
rate come under 100 once he
crossed the mark in the sixth
over. He had for company an
equally hungry Virat Kohli, who
now has two centuries and a fifty
in his last three international
outings.
Dew, expected later in the
evening, was the reason why
India put New Zealand in on a
cracking surface, but the towels
were conspicuous by absence in
the second half of the game.
Which is what made the bowling
effort special.
The pitch played slow and low,
and India cut out the pace and
the room. There was nothing
spectacular done with the ball,
just accurate, wicket to wicket
bowling for most of the part.
Martin Guptill and Scott Styris
tried to take New Zealand
towards a fighting total with
important fifties, but India pulled
the visitors back every time they
threatened to break free.
New Zealand began with three
boundaries in the first two overs,
but Sreesanth's late swing
removed Jamie How. Guptill and
Kane Williamson looked solid
but subdued in a 50-run stand
for the second wicket. Those
runs took 12.5 overs coming - all
but seven of those deliveries in
the Powerplay.
The duo did little to upset the
bowlers' rhythm. Munaf Patel
was allowed to hit the same spot
again and again, with slight seam
movement either way. One of
those moved a bit more than
expected, and found a way
through Williamson's bat and
pad, taking the top of off. The
pressure showed when Ross
Taylor went to hit Yusuf Pathan's
first delivery for a six, but found
deep midwicket.
Styris came out in the 25th over
with the score yet to reach three
figures, and cut out the
unproductive balls, taking singles
with ease and finding timely
boundaries. When he and Guptill
asked for the Powerplay in the
35th over, R Ashwin responded
with a carrom balls to remove
Guptill. That set New Zealand
back by a couple of overs.
Styris and Daniel Vettori had to
take some time set up another
charge, but Sreesanth pegged
them back again. Like he did in
the first match of the series,
Sreesanth came back for a new
spell in the 46th over, and took
two wickets with his first two
deliveries. He ended a
threatening ninth-wicket
partnership in the last game, and
got rid of Styris and Vettori this
time.
New Zealand opened their
defence 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.
By the end of the eighth over,
Gambhir had scored four times
Vijay's eight, taking India to 40,
and putting Mills out of the
attack. Against Styris he made
room and went over extra cover.
Andy McKay strayed too straight,
and was clipped for four into the
leg side. There was not a hint of
power; the short back lift
emphasised how well he timed
the ball.
Vijay continued his patchy
innings until he tried a
premeditated slog-sweep off
Vettori in the 18th over, and was
bowled. Gambhir, though, had
reached 54 off 48 by then, out
of India's 87, and looked set to
carry India through. A crucial
moment came in the 22nd over
when Gambhir's bat got stuck
into the ground as he tried to
slide it in, but Vettori failed to
collect the throw cleanly and
Gambhir was let off.
Every time Gambhir needed
quick runs, he made room and
went over extra cover. Kohli
batted like he was never
dismissed in Guwahati, pulling
powerfully wide of long-on, and
punching square for most of his
runs. Over by over, the 116-run
partnership brought the asking
rate down, until it read 4.3 for
the last 13 overs when Kohli
found short midwicket with a
pull shot.
It was a distraught batsman that
left the wicket, 36 short of a
third straight century, which was
possible with 56 still required. His
captain and a senior back in
Delhi, though, was there to see
India home and continue their
unbeaten home season.
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