India Stutters At The Start, Recovers And Canters Home

Rayudu, Vijay Shankar and Pandya revive the batting, while bowlers keep New Zealand on a leash

India overcame a disastrous start to earn a hard­fought 35­run win over New Zealand in the fifth One­Day International on Sunday to finish the series with a 4-­1 scoreline, proving the heavy loss at Hamilton was an aberration.

At 18 for four, India was heading towards another sub­100 total before Ambati Rayudu (90, 113b) and Vijay Shankar (45, 64b) forged a 98­-run stand to ensure India ended with a fighting 252.

Hardik Pandya’s 45 off 22 balls also went a long way in India posting a challenging target and his two wickets later on showed why he is such an important member of the team.

Failing to build

The New Zealand batsmen, including skipper Kane Williamson (39), squandered their starts in the chase but the home team remained in the contest until Jimmy Neesham (44, 32b) was dismissed in the 37th over.

His freak run out, which was effected by the ever so sharp M.S. Dhoni from behind the stumps, came after an lbw appeal was turned down.

New Zealand eventually ended with 217 in 44.1 overs despite Matt Henry’s unbeaten 17 off nine balls in the fi­ nal overs.

Leggie Yuvzendra Chahal took three timely wickets conceding just 41 runs in 10 overs. Rayudu played one of the most significant knocks of his career and made a compelling claim for a World Cup spot.

After Rohit Sharma decided to bat on a testing surface and the top four falling cheaply, Rayudu and Vijay Shankar produced an innings­reviving stand under immense pressure.

Pacer Matt Henry was the standout bowler, taking four for 35 while Trent Boult picked up three for 39.