Team India got a brilliant win over the hosts New Zealand in the second ODI at Mount Maunganui in the five-match ODI series and went 2-0 up with three more matches to go.

Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan scored fifties and put on 154 runs for the opening wicket to lay a foundation for the Indian team after Kohli won the toss and chose to bat. India ended up making 324/4 in 50 overs with scores of 40-odd from Kohli, Rayudu and Jadhav.

In reply, New Zealand was never in the game as the Indian bowlers, spinners particularly kept picking wickets at regular intervals. Kuldeep picked four, Chahal took two and Jadhav got one, As the Kiwis capitulated for 234, handing India a 90-run win.

Skipper Virat Kohli was happy with the performance and said, “We had a par score but bowlers did a great job once again. Back-to-back clinical performances are pleasing for any captain.”

“I made a conscious effort to up the scoring after second drinks break. There are still things we have to sort out before the World Cup. Those 15-20 runs could have been crucial but we still reached a good score,” he added.

“They always bowl to pick wickets and aren’t content with figures of 0/40, they would rather take one wicket and concede 60 runs,” said Kohli praising Kuldeep and Chahal.

Rohit Sharma got the Man of the match for his knock of 87 runs and said, “We thought 324 was about par score on this pitch. Last time when New Zealand and Sri Lanka played, it was a high scoring game. Credit to the bowlers for doing a fine job.”

New Zealand captain Kane Williamson meanwhile expressed his disappointment saying, “It’s a little frustrating but credit to India. I felt 324 was a total that could have been chased down here. Our bowlers did well to keep them down to 320-odd but now it is important to focus on the small steps. If we had kept wickets in hand, we could have been in the chase but these are lessons that we need to learn going ahead.”

(with news18.com/cricketnext inputs)