Twitter Reactions: Bowlers outclass New Zealand to seal ODI series in Raipur

One, two, three, and four. No, that’s not the step count for any dance move, that’s the number of wickets New Zealand lost in the powerplay. The Indian bowlers got to business from the word go and picked up four crucial wickets within the first ten overs before dishing the visitors out for 108 runs. The Men in Blue put up a dominant show on display to win the game, and also take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series.

Indian skipper Rohit Sharma won the toss and elected to field first. Mohammed Shami started the proceedings with the new ball and handed India a breakthrough in the very first over by dismissing Finn Allen as the Kiwi opener walked back for another low score. The veteran added another wicket to his name by picking up Daryl Mitchell after Mohammed Siraj dismissed Henry Nicholls.

Hardik Pandya showed great reflexes as he caught and bowled Devon Conway, taking the catch in mere 0.5 seconds as New Zealand were reduced to 15/4 at the end of the powerplay. Things worsened when skipper Tom Latham walked back in the 11^th over as the scorecard read 15/5. After a terrible start, the middle-order batters Michael Bracewell and Glenn Phillips steadied the innings.

The duo added 41 runs for the sixth wicket, and Phillips then shared a 47-run stand with Mitchell Santner for the seventh wicket as the visitors managed to put some runs on board. But they could not keep up with the scoring for long, as Indian bowlers kept them on the edge. 

Shami picked up three wickets, Pandya and Washington Sundar picked up two each, and Siraj, Shardul Thakur, and Kuldeep Yadav finished with a wicket each under their name as New Zealand skittled out for just 108 runs in 34.3 overs, making the second ODI a one-sided affair.

India finish off the chase with ease

Indian openers Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill started the innings for India and shared a 52-run partnership in the powerplay. Gill scored a double century in the first game but played second fiddle in the Raipur game as Rohit Sharma did most of the scoring and got to his half-century quickly. Though India lost two wickets in the form of Rohit and Kohli, the Men in Blue clinched an eight-wicket victory as the Men in Blue sealed the ODI series 2-0, with one game to spare.

Here's how Twitter reacted:

India-NZ ka match kab shuru ho raha hai???

Abhi jo chal raha hai usse toh mis-match kehte hain. 🫣 #IndvNZ

— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) January 21, 2023

Bowling coach must be and should be happy with this performance. #IndvsNZ2ndODI

— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) January 21, 2023

NZ Batters today 😁#INDvNZ pic.twitter.com/8hXW60kTP7

— S.Badrinath (@s_badrinath) January 21, 2023

This series win is even better than the last one. Well done team india 👏 #INDVSNZODI

— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) January 21, 2023

The discipline and consistency of length, and the skill of seam movement was top notch today from @MdShami11 and co. Didn't allow NZ to settle at all. Skipper also looking in fine touch 👌🏽 Congratulations on winning the series @BCCI 👏🏽🇮🇳 #INDvNZ pic.twitter.com/zcweuxoMAP

— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) January 21, 2023

Excellent strategy by New Zealand to make sure nobody scores a double century in the Indian team 🫡 #INDvNZ

— Shridhar V (@iimcomic) January 21, 2023

A comprehensive win🙌🙌. "Men in Blue" seal the series. Bowlers did a fantastic job 👏. This is world class domination.#INDvNZ #TeamIndia #INDvsNZ pic.twitter.com/ZZRVJVLZf5

— Gurbinder Kaur (@GKS_18) January 21, 2023

There it is yet another MC trophy in the bag ❤️🙌🏻

This is as impressive as it gets. We are world beaters in bilaterals 🙈

Hope soon we will replicate such performance this year in WC. We move 💪

Gill & Siraj were🔥 in this series so far#CricketTwitter #INDvNZ pic.twitter.com/CZtdZKAC8u

— Yashraj (@Yashrbh) January 21, 2023

𝘊𝘩𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘦 𝘬𝘪 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘢𝘭, 𝘣𝘢𝘢𝘻 𝘬𝘪 𝘯𝘢𝘻𝘢𝘳 𝘢𝘶𝘳 𝘚𝘩𝘢𝘮𝘪 𝘣𝘩𝘢𝘪 𝘬𝘪 𝘣𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘩 𝘯𝘢𝘩𝘪 𝘬𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦! 😎#INDvNZ | #TeamIndia | @MdShami11

— Gujarat Titans (@gujarat_titans) January 21, 2023

Shamiiii, you beauty 😍

A brilliant caught and bowled 👉 Daryl Mitchell dismissed for 1. #INDvNZ

— Delhi Capitals (@DelhiCapitals) January 21, 2023

Captain RO's 4⃣8⃣th ODI half-century gives a कडक start for #TeamIndia's chase! 💪

🇮🇳: 79/1 (16)#OneFamily #INDvNZ @BCCI @ImRo45 pic.twitter.com/NTds13Tl3Q

— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) January 21, 2023