IND vs NZ: 3 Reasons Why India lost the second ODI

In the second ODI at Niranjan Shah Stadium in Rajkot, the Indian team lost to New Zealand by 7 wickets. As a result, the series currently stands at 1-1.  The series decider will be played at Holkar Cricket Stadium, Indore, on Sunday, January 18. In the Rajkot ODI, New Zealand skipper Michael Bracewell invited the Indian team to bat first, after winning the toss. 

Despite KL Rahul’s brilliant ton, the Indian Team reached an average ODI total of 284/7 after batting first, which was easily chased by New Zealand batters in 47.3 overs, and 7 wickets in hand, thanks to Daryl Mitchell’s 131 runs and Will Young’s 87. In this article, we are going to learn about 3 major reasons why India faced defeat in the second ODI against New Zealand. 

1. Middle order failure 

Despite an excellent opening partnership of 70 runs in 12.2 overs, the Indian team was unable to grab the advantage in the middle overs. Rohit Sharma was dismissed by Kristian Clarke after scoring 23. Following this, Shubman Gill started another partnership with Virat Kohli. However, on 99, Shubman Gill went back to the pavilion after scoring 56 in the 17th over. From here, India lost 2 more wickets till the 24th over, and suddenly India’s score turned from 99/1 to 118/4. 

In this stage, India lost Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer (8) and Virat Kohli’s wickets. Following this, KL Rahul made a 71-run partnership in 88 balls with Ravindra Jadeja for the 5th wicket. With the help of KL Rahul’s hitting in the final phase, India reached on 284, but it was not far enough. Just because of the middle overs' collapse, the Indian team was unable to reach a massive total. In the middle overs (13-39), the Indian team just managed to score 112 runs in 26 overs and lost 5 wickets.

2. Average bowling & fielding performance

While restricting 285 runs, Indian bowlers clinched the first 2 wickets in the first 12 overs. However, after this, the Indian team had to wait for the next wicket till the 37th over. The main cause of the match's defeat was the bowlers' inability to take wickets in the middle overs. In addition to bowlers, fielders were mediocre at fielding and dropped catches. Prasidh Krishna dropped Daryl Mitchell’s catch in the 36th over. Furthermore, Ravindra Jadeja also missed a run-out opportunity. Fielders also had an ordinary day in the ground fielding as well. Loose fielding allowed easy singles, doubles, and even a few boundaries, making the chase comfortable for Mitchell, Phillips, and Young.

3. Tough day for Kuldeep Yadav

In the middle overs, the Indian team needed wickets from Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja, but both went expensive. Ravindra Jadeja went wicketless in one more match. Even though Kuldeep was able to grab one wicket, he gave up 82 runs in his ten overs. Against indian spinners, Daryl Mitchell, Will Young and Glenn Phillips took easy singles & doubles, and they also smashed them regularly for boundaries. Daryll Mitchell had good numbers against India, and he executed the same job again. He continued his form against Indian bowlers. With two sixes and eleven fours, he amassed 131 runs.