%20(1).jpg)
India vs New Zealand: An Exciting Affair – Cricket
When it came to the day of the most sensational match on India versus New Zealand there was much at stake from the best in the business of international cricket. The match was staged in the famous ground the Eden Gardens, Kolkata – Bollywood cricketing audience was ready to see two giants’ battle it out. This meant that both teams were on form having prior to this match recording good performances in their earlier matches.
A Historic Rivalry
There has always been an incredible cricket rivalry between India and New Zealand up and until the recent past. The previous meeting between a team of J. Goncalves and a team led by I. Djordjevic always turned into a very tense event, which is why the already mentioned duel did not become an exception. As has been the case with most of the matches, both teams wanted to prove their superiority especially given that the FIFA World Cup was looming closer.
Toss and Team Strategies
In the match, Sharma won the toss and batting first said it was necessary to make a total today. These measures were taken insisting that the wickets in the Eden gardens will once again be a great batting wicket. New Zealand’s captain Kane Williamson said that chasing a score is never easy but they have faith in themselves to do that.
India came out to bat with Sharma and Shubman Gill as their openers, both of whom turned it on with aggressive cricket. Both players built a fine understanding and in this match, Sharma typical grace while Gill played few quite exquisite shots. The two got of 120 runs for the first wicket before Gill was clobbered to a catch in the deep.
Middle Order Resilience
They then slipped into a mini-collapse as India lost two wickets in two successive balls. But then Virat Kohli and KL Rahul stabilised the innings by bringing up some useful partnership. Kohli, who once again, came out to bat at no.3 among the regular players here, batted as usual, with his talent of making a big total, safe and secure. Rahul, on the other hand, looked sharp with his foot work and time his stroke play well and used his innings for a good amount of bowling as well.
The middle order came to the party, Kohli scored a fluent fifty and taking the barrage of Indian cricket into the tail end, they managed to score a total 280 runs at the loss of seven wickets. The Indian innings was full of quick runs in the death over and most of the damage was done by Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja who were getting boundaries most of the times in the last few overs.
New Zealand's Chase
That is the kind of target New Zealand required to chase, 281 runs, and they were certainly aware of how much a task it was going to be. Both Conway, the left-handed opener and a right-handed opener Allen shared a placid approach and wanted to lay a good foundation. Especially Allen, impressed and attacked the Indian bowlers and started hitting fours a lot. That changed with India spinners Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav entering into the game.
Chahal didn’t wait long to get his act going and deceived Allen with a beautiful wrong one that left the batsman completely surprised. Conway was the next to go, caught LBW by Kuldeep and things went from bad to worse for New Zealand as they slipped to 90 for the loss of three wickets. The pressure continued to build but players like Ross Taylor and Williamson help to get back the control.
Turning Point
New Zealand continued their streak as the Indians battled to approach the target. The turning of the match, however, occurred when Jasprit Bumrah took a terrific catch in the outfield, dismissing Taylor. This moment handed back the initiative to India, which they promptly seized. New Zealand finally appeared to get the momentum on their side against their opponents, their valiant lower order, but it was enough not to cross over 265 runs by which New Zealand completed their innings, giving the Indian team a well-deserved victory by 15 runs.
Post-Match Reflections
Speaking at the post-match presentation, Rohit Sharma was proud of his team while pointing out the great show put up by the middle order. Kane Williamson praised the efforts of his players but said that it was all about moments that defined the game.This match added just another chapter to the rivalry between India and New Zealand, but at the same time, it reminded that cricket is utterly unpredictable. Both teams, with an eye to come out smelling for the World Cup, made this a very educative game in terms of where each side went wrong and how well each side clicked. The enthusiasm and excitement put forth by the fans as they preview this thriller promises to bring forth much more as fans look forward to future contests between these two cricketing giants.
Publisher
%20(1).jpg)