Ind vs NZ: Gavaskar surprised with the ease with which the Kiwis won

Sunil Gavaskar expressed surprise at New Zealand’s ease in chasing nearly 300 against India in the second ODI at Rajkot, crediting the 150-plus partnership between Will Young and Daryl Mitchell. Gavaskar praised Mitchell’s fitness and commitment, while Simon Doull highlighted his confidence against spin and aggressive stroke play.

Hyderabad: Cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar said he 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.

“With their 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,” Gavaskar said on JioStar’s special programme.

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“But full credit to New Zealand, particularly the partnership between Will Young and Daryl Mitchell. That 150-plus stand just took the game away. 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.

“Daryl Mitchell deserves huge credit, not just for the batting, but even after getting to his hundred, the way he kept running hard, putting pressure on the fielders, and constantly taking two’s. That shows both fitness and commitment to the team,” Gavaskar said.

On India being under pressure after losing the second ODI in Rajkot, the former India captain said India would certainly feel the pressure going into the third ODI because, 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,” he said.

For his part, former New Zealand international and also now TV commentator Simon Doull lauded Daryl Mitchell for his knock and how he took down India’s spin duo.

“Mitchell’s got some very good numbers against India. He’s averaging around 75 or 80 at the moment. He clearly has confidence playing against India, and you can’t have that without being able to play spin well,” he said.

“We see it time and again, the reverse sweeps, using his feet. Very early on against Kuldeep, he came down the wicket and put him under pressure in his first over. From that moment, Kuldeep lost his length slightly, which doesn’t happen often. Even against Jadeja, he played him really well. The fact that he can come down the pitch, use his feet, hit over the top, or stay aggressive and play shots on both sides of the ground, with the reverse sweeps, the back-foot shots, everything in his armoury, shows his confidence. I think that’s the big key at the moment against this Indian side.” Doull said.

On New Zealand not being under pressure going into the decider and having the opportunity to create history in Indore, Doull said: “Of the two sides, New Zealand are the one not under pressure going into the final game. India generally responds pretty well to pressure; they still have key players in the side, and they know how to handle these situations. They understand how to win game three or game five of a series when it’s all levelled up. But New Zealand have nothing to lose. They have never won an ODI series in this country, so this would be a good time to start.”

“For those reasons, they’re not under pressure, and what’s happened in this game will make them feel very good. If they can carry that confidence through to Indore and put India under a bit of pressure, they will create opportunities, and that’s all they need. There’s no guarantee they will win, but if they can apply that pressure and take their chances, they might just get across the line,” he said.