In a do or die encounter India registered an important win against the visitors in the 2nd ODI hosted in Pune. India needed to win this match to keep the series alive and the hosts did exactly that to make the scoreline 1-1 with final scheduled on Sunday in Kanpur.
New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson despite chasing successfully in the previous game elected to bat first on a very flat looking Pune wicket, but the start to the Kiwi innings was exactly the opposite what he would have imagined. Bhuvneshwar Kumar was at his brilliant best as he weaved his magic in the opening spell. New Zealand never really recovered from that opening spell and despite some late order recovery from Colin de Grandhomme and Henry Nicholas, kiwis only managed to post a small total of 230 in their full quota of 50 overs.
India despite losing Rohit Sharma and captain Virat Kohli early never looked in any trouble while chasing. Shikhar Dhawan”s and Dinesh Karthik”s gritty half-centuries assured that they chased the target rather comfortably. Twitter congratulated Indian team on their all-around performance and now the stage is set for a mega final decider ODI match in Kanpur.
Dhoni now has 9800* ODI runs.. 200 away from 10,000! #IndvNZ
— Bharath Seervi (@SeerviBharath) October 25, 2017
India sally back. Clinical & comprehensive show. Karthik scoring runs at no.4 a good sign. Has ensured berth in XI for 4-5 ODIs. Series 1-1
— Navneet Mundhra (@navneet_mundhra) October 25, 2017
Team India Scored 232. Remaining 106 Runs Will Be Scored By Pune's Curator Pandurang Salgaonkar. 😂🙏🇮🇳#INDvNZ #INDvsNZ
— Sir Jadeja fan (@SirJadeja) October 25, 2017
MSD still the undisputed king for fans. The rousing reception and chants are simply unparalleled. Spreads euphoria like nobody else #IndvNZ
— Jatin Sapru (@jatinsapru) October 25, 2017
Congrats India.This was a thorough professional victory. Bhuvi & Bumrah were brilliant. Great contribution from @SDhawan25 & @DineshKarthik
— VVS Laxman (@VVSLaxman281) October 25, 2017
Well played @DineshKarthik. 1-1 🙌🏼
— Saurabh Malhotra (@MalhotraSaurabh) October 25, 2017
Only a modest target for India and therefore, an easy, controlled run-chase. Was hardly ever in doubt.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) October 25, 2017
Must Win Game brought the best out of Team India. Bowlers set up a dominating performance. Well played. @scottbstyris, it’s 1-1 😊🙌 #IndvNZ
— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) October 25, 2017
Fantastic Performance By #TeamIndia Today. Now With 1-1 Final Stop Is Kanpur!!!! #INDvNZ #NZvIND
— Rajesh Khilare (@Cricrajeshpk) October 25, 2017
https://twitter.com/vanillawallah/status/923177058020282373
He took 3/45 to help restrict New Zealand to just 230 – the #INDvNZ 2nd ODI Player of the Match is @BhuviOfficial! pic.twitter.com/IpgcSs9u72
— ICC (@ICC) October 25, 2017
Shocked! What has happened to this world! Curator lied even after taking money. Par score of 337 doesn't seem possible. #IndvNz
— cricBC (@cricBC) October 25, 2017
Good win and good knock by Shikhi D. 😎👌 @SDhawan25 pic.twitter.com/zsekgSHPyP
— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) October 25, 2017
India captain @imVkohli was very pleased with the contribution from @Jaspritbumrah93 and @BhuviOfficial as they levelled series #INDvNZ pic.twitter.com/MIUTdMRC8k
— ICC (@ICC) October 25, 2017
https://twitter.com/Benlaughlin55/status/923106382953377792
