India’s stand-in captain Shikhar Dhawan said that the team needed to implement their plans wisely and not bowl to the batter’s strength, after New Zealand handed them a sound 7-wicket defeat in the first of the three ODIs which was played at Eden Park, Auckland on November 25, 2022.
Kane Williamson won the toss and chose to bowl first. For India, Arshdeep Singh and Umran Malik made their ODI debuts.
For India, Shikhar Dhawan (72 in 77 balls with 13 fours) and Shubman Gill (50) added 124 runs for the first wicket. Shreyas Iyer then made a sublime 80, while Sanju Samson with 36, and Washington Sundar with 37* in 16 balls, provided the finishing touches as India posted 306/7 in 50 overs.
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For New Zealand, Tim Southee (3/73) and Lockie Ferguson (3/59) were the picks of the bowlers.
In reply, though New Zealand openers Devon Conway (24) and Finn Allen (22) failed to lay a good platform for following batters, captain Kane Williamson anchored one end. Daryl Mitchell failed as well, scoring just 11 runs.
Umran Malik picked two wickets on his ODI debut, while Shardul Thakur picked one wicket.
Three wickets were what the Indian bowlers managed to take as Tom Latham hammered them to all parts of the Eden Park ground, hitting 19 fours and 5 sixes in his brilliant 145* knock. He added a record 221* runs with Kane Williamson, who finished on 94* runs as New Zealand reached the target with 7 wickets in hand and 17 balls to spare.
Talking at the presentation ceremony after the match, Shikhar Dhawan lauded Tom Latham, who stroked 23 runs out of 25 which came in the 40th over bowled by Shardul Thakur and took the momentum away from the Indian team.
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“We felt good about the total. First 10-15 overs the ball did a lot. It's a bit different than other grounds. Have to plan accordingly. Today we've bowled short of length and Latham attacked us there. That's where he took the game away from us especially in the 40th over. That's where the momentum shifted. Really enjoy playing here.
Would've been happier if we won but that's part and parcel. They're all young boys and lots of learning for them. Bowling side and fielding side as well (what areas need improvement?). We need to implement our plans more wisely and make sure we don't make the batsmen play on their strength,” Dhawan said.
This was only the second time New Zealand has chased a 300-plus target against India in ODIs, with their best being 348 in Hamilton in 2020.
(Prime Video inputs)
