Daryl Mitchell scored an unbeaten 131 to take New Zealand over the line in Rajkot.
Like most of his ODI innings against India these days, Daryl Mitchell once again proved to be the nemesis for the Men in Blue. But this time, there was something different about his knock. For the first time, Daryl Mitchell scoring in excess of 50 has ended up on the winning side for the Blackcaps.
The 34-year-old was in sublime form in the second IND vs NZ ODI, and smashed an unbeaten 131 to help New Zealand level the series against India. His 162-run partnership with Will Young for the third wicket took the game away from the hosts. The latter also scored a gritty 87 off 98 deliveries.
That being said, it was Kuldeep Yadav who was taken for the most number of runs in his quota of 10 overs. He left-arm wrist-spinner conceded 82 runs off his 10 overs, bagging a solitary wicket of Will Young. However, it was observed that the Kiwi duo played with an attacking intent against Kuldeep.
To put it into numbers, Daryl Mitchell scored 50 runs off 32 deliveries against the Indian chinaman bowler, which comprised four boundaries and a maximum. Apart from that, Mitchell also bagged 16 singles and six doubles with the remaining balls resulting in dots. He was asked about his approach against Kuldeep Yadav in the post match presentation.
“I think he is one of the best bowlers in the world, can turn it both ways. It was about adapting to different situations. He was going to be a massive bowler and it was about finding different options against him,” said the New Zealand centurion on Kuldeep Yadav.
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The pitch was playing a few tricks when Daryl Mitchell and Will Young got together in the middle. That is exactly why it was important for the duo to get their eye in, so that they could take the game deep. And that is what they executed to precision.
When asked about the attacking nature of cricket which they displayed against Kuldeep Yadav, Will Young also spoke about it and mentioned that the plan to take Kuldeep on was not decided pre-hand. It was a decision that was made on the go, with the batters sighting an opportunity to score quick runs.
“India have two great spinners, Jadeja as well, so the first challenge was against him, Daryl and I got into a bit of a flow and the rate was around 7 when Kuldeep came on, so we thought there’s an opportunity here to score and put some pressure back on them,” said Young after the game.
After they set a platform for themselves to launch, both the batters started taking the bowlers on. It was pleasing to see how Daryl Mitchell held his nerve with a calm head on his shoulders and carried New Zealand to the finishing line. The series now stands at 1-1 with the final ODI to be played in Indore on January 18.
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