Clinical Kiwis clinch series
Ross Taylor’s brilliant hundred and a fourth consecutive half century from Kane Williamson helped New Zealand register a comfortable win in the 4th ODI and also clinch the series 3-0. Batting first, team India managed to put up a decent score of 278/5 on the board. India had two changes, Suresh Raina and Shikhar Dhawan were replaced by Ambati Rayudu and the debutant Stuart Binny. James Neesham replaced the big hitting Corey Anderson and Kyle Mills replaced Mitchell McClenaghan.
India had a make shift opener in the form of Virat Kohli, who was dismissed cheaply for 2. Ajinkya Rahane didn’t trouble the scorers much as he departed with India tottering at 22-2. The New Zealand pacers were constantly hitting good areas and kept the Indian run rate in check. Rayudu and Rohit Sharma then steadied the ship with a healthy partnership. The former was succumbed to a short delivery from Hamish Bennett for 37 and the later failed to convert a fifty into a big score.
The best ODI player in the world, captain cool, Dhoni along with Ravinder Jadeja then put up a brilliant 127 run partnership to guide India to a respectable total. The duo had 14 fours and 5 hits over the rope between them. Dhoni scored yet another half-century, his 54th and the all-rounder Jadeja remained unbeaten on 62. Mills, Southee and Nathan McCullum completed their quota of 10 overs conceding not more that 4 per over.
New Zealand’s chase began with a flurry of boundaries. Martin Guptill and Jesse Ryder got New Zealand off to a flier adding 54 for the first wicket. Ryder was cleaned up by Varun Aaron for 19, Guptill followed soon as he was trapped right before the stumps. He scored a quick-fire 35. The kiwis scored at a brisk pace with over 6 runs per over in the first 10. India on the other hand managed only 28.
The spin-twins were immediately brought into the attack and bowled some tight overs to get the required run rate over 6. Ross Taylor and the super consistent Kane Williamson tailored a match winning partnership of 130. The Indian pacers looked completely at sea bowling half trackers which were dispatched with distain to the boundary line. Jadeja looked the most likely bowler to pick wickets but was negotiated calmly. Nevertheless, he managed to run Williamson out for 60.
Brendon McCullum, the kiwi captain, walked in next and smashed the ball to all corners of the park. A long hit over the ropes meant New Zealand registered a comfortable 7 wicket win, with that a 3-0 series victory. The Captain remained unbeaten on 49 and Taylor on 112.
Dhoni and his men have their work cut out in the 5th and final ODI at Wellington. Kohli opening the innings, Rayudu being preferred over Binny to fill in the overs, these were some decisions that didn’t work in the captain’s favour. The Kiwis outplayed us in all the departments and a 4-0 victory is surely on the cards.
Tags: Cricket, India, MS Dhoni, New Zealand, ODI, Ravinder Jadeja
