Indian team registered an emphatic win over New Zealand in the second T20I of the five-match series played in Auckland and went 2-0 up. It was a tremendous performance by the team on a difficult wicket, which was quite opposite of the 200 plus pitch the other day.
KL Rahul was named the Man of the Match for his amazing 57*-run knock which had 3 fours and 2 sixes. He held the innings together as Rohit (8) and Kohli (11) fell early in the chase of the 133-run target. Talking in the post-match presentation, Rahul said, “Obviously different circumstances, the target was different, the pitch was a little different from what we played on a couple of days ago. So, I knew I couldn't play the same way I played a couple of days ago. I had a different responsibility today. We lost our senior players Rohit and Virat early so I had to stay in there and make sure I finish the game.”
The Karnataka opener also talked about changes he has made in his game and how it helps him understand his batting better. He said, "I think the understanding of my game and how I'm reading the situation and reading the game has gotten better for me. That's helped me be more consistent and I've always put the team ahead and thought about what the team requires at that moment. More often than not I've come up with the right shots and right answers so that's been the mantra for my success in the last several T20s."
On the other hand, captain Virat Kohli was visibly pleased by the performance put up by his bowlers, who kept a dangerous Kiwi batting lineup to just 132 runs in 20 overs. "I think we had another good performance today, especially with the ball. The bowlers stood up and took control of what we wanted to do out there. Sticking to one side of the wicket was a very good feature for us as a team to restrict a good New Zealand team to 132 which I think was below par,” Kohli said.
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He praised the middle overs bowling by Jadeja, Dube, and Chahal, who kept the batsmen quiet and didn’t give them balls to tee off in the last few overs.
He said, “The low total led us to bat in that manner but we thought the pitch was good for 160 in the first half. We understood the angles of the field better, how the pitch was playing and I had to think on my feet as a captain. The ball gripped for the spinners and I think Jadeja was outstanding. Chahal was a banker. Bumrah was amazing as well, and Shami and Shardul and Shivam making very good contributions with the ball but I think we backed it up in the field more importantly."
(ESPNCricinfo inputs)
