Former captain Sunil Gavaskar says he was quite surprised by how easily New Zealand upstaged India in the second ODI by seven wickets at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Rajkot.
Gavaskar said that he was surprised by the way the visitors cruised to victory in Rajkot. He also stated that New Zealand`s bowlers made good use of the slowness of the pitch.
“I was surprised by how easily New Zealand got across the line because, before they started batting, everyone thought India would be able to make use of the slowness of the pitch,” he said on JioHotstar`s `Amul Cricket Live`.
“With their (New Zealand) bowlers, not just the spinners, but all of them, using the slowness of the surface well, it felt like India would be able to restrict New Zealand to around 260 or 270. I thought that would have been an easy win for India,” added the former cricketer.
The legendary batsman then said that the visitors showcased how a target close to 300 runs can be chased by taking your own time to settle down.
“I think they showed how a near-300 run total can be chased down, by taking your time to settle in and then backing your stroke-making ability and running between the wickets,” he said.
Gavaskar also feels that if Team India had won the second ODI, they would have provided an opportunity to someone like Yashasvi Jaiswal.
“…had they won this game, they would have had the freedom to experiment a little, perhaps giving opportunities to those who haven`t played so far. Someone like Jaiswal could have gotten a bit of a run as well. All of that might have been possible. But now they can`t take any chances. They have to play their best eleven again,” said the 76-year-old former cricketer.
IND vs NZ 3rd ODI: Date and Venue
With the series currently tied at 1-1, the third ODI match between Team India and New Zealand is scheduled to be played on January 18 at the Holkar Stadium in Indore. It will be interesting to see which team manage to clinch the series.
(With PTI Inputs)
