Just three days after they completed an emphatic 5-0 sweep in the T20I leg of their tour of New Zealand, Team India prepare for the longer version of the two white-ball formats as they take on Kane Williamson and company in a three-ODI rubber starting Wednesday.
While the scoreline would suggest complete domination on the part of the Men in Blue, who became the first team to win by a 5-0 scoreline in T20Is, the fight that the Black Caps showed after their meek surrender in first two games suggests otherwise. The third and the fourth fixtures, at Hamilton and Wellington (Westpac) respectively, saw the hosts nearly pull off comfortable victories, only to suffer late collapses and finish level with their opponents — eventually losing both Super Overs.
The fact that they showed some semblance of a fight for the better part of the series is what Black Caps skipper Williamson should use to motivate his squad ahead of the 50-over contests that take place on 5 (Hamilton), 8 (Auckland) and 11 February (Tauranga) respectively. India, on the other hand, will hope to use the momentum that they've gained from the whitewash to pull off a second consecutive ODI series win on New Zealand soil (India defeated New Zealand 4-1 in 2019), as well as try out some new combinations in their lineup, especially after opener and vice-captain Rohit Sharma was ruled out of the remainder of the tour after suffering a calf injury in the final T20I.
Over the years, ODI engagements between the Men in Blue and the Black Caps on New Zealand soil have made for a number of memorable moments. In our build-up to the 50-over engagements between the two sides, we present to you five such knocks that have stood out from the rest:
Sachin Tendulkar, 82 at Auckland, 1993-94
Navjot Singh Sidhu getting ruled out of the second one-dayer between New Zealand and India at Auckland led to a historic moment in Indian cricket — the birth of Sachin Tendulkar, the opener. Tendulkar had been eyeing the opener’s spot for a while, and even had discussions with then-captain Mohammad Azharuddin as well as the team management, and grabbed it at the first available opportunity with a scintillating 82 off just 49 balls against the Black Caps at the Eden Park in Auckland. Tendulkar’s blitzkrieg stood out all the more in an era in which explosive starts still weren’t quite the thing in limited-overs cricket, and paved the way for the Master Blaster to realise his full potential and form two immensely successful opening partnerships with Sourav Ganguly and Virender Sehwag.
Chris Cairns, 115 at Christchurch, 1998-99
Cairns was in his prime as an all-rounder for the Black Caps in the late 1990s, and bowled match-defining spells and finished games with the bat for his team more often than not. A notable instance of this was his 80-ball 115 at Christchurch in 1999 that helped the hosts level the five-match series in the final game. Cairns forged valuable stands with Roger Twose and Dion Nash while hammering the fifth-fastest ODI ton at that time (75) balls to showcase his hitting prowess and to propel New Zealand to 300/8 — quite the challenging total in 1999. The all-rounder then dismissed Javagal Srinath off his bowling and effected a run-out to cap a productive day and help the Kiwis win by 70 runs. A year-and-a-half later, he would shine against the Indians once again, this time in an unbeaten century to help New Zealand win the ICC Knockout Trophy, their only ICC event win till date.
Sachin Tendulkar, 163 at Christchurch, 2008-09
Another Tendulkar special from the vault, the maestro plundered the hapless Kiwis in the third one-dayer of what would turn out to be his final tour of the country. Tendulkar made the most of the batting paradise that was Christchurch’s Lancaster Park, amassing 163 runs off just 133 balls before a pulled stomach muscle prevented him from becoming the first male batsman to score a one-day double-hundred — a feat that he would achieve a year later in Gwalior. His assault enable India to finish eight shy of the 400-mark and that proved too much for the Kiwis to chase down despite a solid start by Jesse Ryder and Brendon McCullum.
Virender Sehwag, 125* at Hamilton, 2008-09
Sehwag had smashed a 69-ball ton against the same opponents in 2001 to announce himself in international cricket. Fast forward to 2009, and the 'Nawab of Najafgarh' produced an even quicker ton, this time taking nine deliveries less to help the Men in Blue clinch their maiden ODI series win in New Zealand in the rain-affected fourth game at Hamilton. Sehwag completed the milestone in his trademark style — smashing the ball over long off for a maximum off Daniel Vettori’s bowling to bring up what was the seventh-fastest ODI ton back then, in an era when the Twenty20 format was still nascent.
Ross Taylor, 112* at Hamilton, 2013-14
Ross Taylor ended India’s hopes of mounting a comeback in the five-match ODI series after Ravindra Jadeja’s heroics in the third match at Auckland, hitting an unbeaten 112 to mastermind a seven-wicket victory just three days later in Hamilton to help the Black Caps clinch the series with a game to spare. Taylor capitalised on the start provided to the hosts by Martin Guptill and Kane Williamson, and maintained a safe approach at the crease — focusing his shots primarily on the off-side and resisting the temptation to slog the ball all the way for a maximum. His cautious approach, which allowed Brendon McCullum to go hammer-and-tongs at the other end for an unbeaten 36-ball 49, helped New Zealand chase 280 with seven wickets and nearly two overs to spare.
from Firstpost Sports Latest News https://ift.tt/37WsgeN
No comments:
Post a Comment