The bowling department was not up to the mark in Hyderabad, which nearly saw New Zealand complete an unbelievable heist, oh and it hurt so bad that the Men in Blue responded with an utterly comprehensive all-round performance in Raipur.

The match was over within the first 10 overs with the Siraj-Shami duo terrifying the batters. A couple of partnerships got New Zealand past the 100-run mark and allowed Raipur fans to witness a decent glimpse of our skipper’s brilliance.

Rohit Sharma smashed an entertaining half-century in the run chase and helped India pick up an eight wicket win, thereby pocketing yet another series in limited overs on home turf.

Shami, Siraj go BOOM, BOOM!

Mohammed Siraj just makes bowling look easy right now, but today, it was Mohammed Shami who produced the first breakthrough. He sent Finn Allen’s stumps for a walk and the Kiwi batters were left clueless against their pace and swing. Wickets kept tumbling after that, as the visiting side were reduced to 15/5 in 10.3 overs.

Lower order adds some respectability!

In Hyderabad, the lower order batters got them back in a game that was dead and buried. In Raipur, they rescued the Kiwis from embarrassment. Glenn Phillips added a 41-run stand with Bracewell and followed it up with a 47-run partnership with Mitchell Santner. These partnerships helped New Zealand hit three figures.

Also, can we take a moment to appreciate that Kung-Fu caught-and-bowled from Pandya to dismiss Devon Conway? *Other worldly stuff*

Spinners mop up the tail

Pandya broke the Santner-Phillips partnership and in the next over, spinners took charge to complete the job. Washington Sundar dismissed Phillips and Lockie Ferguson, while Kuldeep Yadav closed the lid on New Zealand. Shami was the pick of our bowlers, returning with figures of 3/18 whilst Pandya and Sundar picked up a brace each.

Rohit blitzkrieg lights up Raipur

The Kiwi batters looked at Rohit Sharma in the second innings and wondered, “Did we bat on the same pitch?” For the umpteenth time, our skipper played shots that left the viewers with their jaws on the floor. He smashed two sixes, one over fine leg and the other over covers, alongside seven boundaries.

He was dismissed shortly after getting to his 77th 50+ score in ODIs and he is not far away from 10,000 runs in the format. *manifesting another double-ton to get there in style*

Gill and Kishan complete the final rites

The two latest additions of the 200-club, Shubman Gill and Ishan Kishan, were in the middle to finish the match. Gill, coming fresh off that massive 200, scored the winning runs and remained unbeaten on 40 off 53 balls, as India completed the run chase in the 21st over.

The hosts were clinical in every department and took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the ODI series. “Mission World Cup 2023” is well and truly in full swing!

Brief Scores

New Zealand 108 all out in 34.3 overs (Glenn Phillips 36, Mohammed Shami 3/18) lost to India (Rohit Sharma 51, Shubman Gill 40*)