MOHALI: Before the second One-dayer in Delhi, New Zealand were bereft of almost everything. No wins, no centuries, three successive Test defeats and a losing start to the ODI series. Add to that a 5nil record at toss, and the tour turns even more miserable. But it all changed.
Until the penultimate ball of the 49th over in Delhi ODI, the Kiwis were cursing their stars, despite a
Kane Williamson hundred.
India's 183/8 turned into 232/8, just 11 adrift of New Zealand's 242 and a 2-0 lead. But
Trent Boult ensured there wasn't another Hardik Pandya (36 off 32) nightmare for the visitors. And the Kiwis exulted after their first victory on tour as
Tim Southee cleaned up Jasprit Bumrah for a six-run win.
The slide was finally arrested, the momentum shifted and it's the New Zealanders in ascendancy arriving here for the third ODI with the five-match series locked at 1-1.
Change in a team is evident when the captain does well. Williamson's 118 rubbed off to his team-mates in Delhi, where, despite an average total, the bowlers never allowed India to get away.
The resolve of World Cup finalists showed in
Manish Pandey's run out executed by
Mitchell Santner's pick-up and throw, which lifted the entire team until the Pandya scare.
As clichéd it may sound, there are no parallels to a win and NZ will be a much tougher opposition in the third ODI at the
Punjab Cricket Association
's (PCA) IS Bindra Stadium here. To put things in perspective, Mohali has always been the venue where teams like Australia and New Zealand enjoy playing as the pitch has traditionally been faster and true compared to other venues.
With no high-rise stands on the sides here and North Indian winter making its presence felt, bowlers will enjoy bowling as the lights take effect, and Williamson certainly won't mind that with Southee and Boult up his sleeve, who restricted India just a match ago.
The momentum shift could certainly be felt at the ground as well, even as the teams are yet to have their first practice sessions.
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