Indian Cricket

The Kiwis have lost the series against India and India will play the remaining matches as a formality but for the Kiwis it’s about pride and eagerness to win a match at a location where the next World cup is being held. The Kiwis were white-washed in their previous series against Bangladesh and a repeat of that in India would be a disaster. Knowing these facts The Kiwis entered the Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore for the fourth ODI with a positive approach.

Electing to bat first the Kiwis got a good start as Martin Guptill and Brendon McCullum started in gear three. After a few good shots both Guptill and McCullum got out. The Kiwis didn’t collapse after that and the middle order contained the Indian spin attack to minimal effectivity, but, Ravichandran Ashwin bowled a beauty to get Ross Taylor out. Soon Styris departed and it seemed like a below average target of 240-250 was on the cards.

James Franklin came in at number six and took on the bowlers with his powerful hitting. The Indians had no answer to Franklins massive hitting and even the crowd in Bangalore loved it. He unfortunately couldn’t complete his century and made 98 runs of only 69 balls setting up a target of 316.

India didn’t reply in the best fashion. Gambhir and Kohli got out cheaply and put the Indian batting line-up on the back foot. Parthiv Patel looked good but got out making a fifty increasing pressure on other batsmen. But his wicket allowed Yusuf Pathan to take charge. India at this stage wanted batsmen to stay and score at a quick rate and Pathan gave what India wanted- a gem of an innings.

Pathan started his natural aggressive hitting alongside Rohit Sharma for sometime before the later got out missing a fifty. Saurabh Tiwary came in and supported Pathan who looked as if he was on a mission. Tiwary was a mere spectator as Pathan scored a century in 79 balls. Rain interrupted play for some time. Batsmen usually lose concentration in such times but Pathan showed that even rain gods can’t stop him after he hit a six to Danniel Vettori, the very next ball the game resumed.

India comfortably achieved the target with 7 balls left to spare. Man of the match was undoubtedly Yusuf Pathan for his match saving batting performance and three wickets he took while bowling. The selectors must be smiling as many people raised questions over Pathan’s selection.

Tags: Bangalore, Chinnaswamy Stadium, Cricket, India, Indian Sports, New Zealand, ODI Match, ODI Series, Sports, Sports India