It was a case of deja vu for all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja as he took once again took India within touching distance of a famous victory over New Zealand but couldn’t push them over the line as the Kiwis clinched a thrilling 22-run victory in the second ODI at Eden Park in Auckland on Saturday. Courtesy of this win , New Zealand took an unassailable lead in the three-match series as they had earlier won the Hamilton ODI by four wickets.
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During the 274-run chase, India were reduced to 129/6, with only Shreyas Iyer going past the 50-run mark. Following Iyer’s dismissal at 52, Jadeja came to the crease and started to rebuild the chase with the tail. He struck 24-run partnership with Shardul Thakur and 76-run stand with Navdeep Saini to take the visitors closer to the target.
However, Jadeja couldn’t take them to a series-levelling win as India were dismissed for 251. During the course of the innings, Jadeja crossed the 50-run mark and created an Indian record in ODIs. This was his seventh half-century while batting at number seven and he surpassed former India captains MS Dhoni and Kapil Dev’s mark in the illustrious list.
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Most 50+ scores at number 7 for India
7: Ravindra Jadeja
6: MS Dhoni
6:Kapil Dev
This is New Zealand’s first series win over India since 2014. The previous three series between the two teams were all won by India (2016, 2017 and 2019). This is also India’s 423rd loss in ODIs which is the highest in the world. Sri Lanka take the second spot with 421 losses followed by Pakistan at 413.
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The third and final match of the series will be played at Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui on Tuesday. Having already lost the series, Virat Kohli and his troops will be playing for pride in that encounter before the caravan moves on to the longest format.
