One of the best performances by the bowlers: MS Dhoni

India defeated New Zealand by 190 in the series decider at Vizag to win the 5-match series 3-2. India defeated the Kiwis convincingly as the Kiwis gave up the match without much of a fight, as they were all out in 79 runs. On a match dominated by the bowlers with Amit Mishra bagging 5 wickets, the Indian batsmen put up a decent total of 269 with the help of some good partnerships between Rohit, Kohli and Dhoni and a quickfire innings at the end by Kedar Jadhav.

Spinner Jayant Yadav who bagged one wicket giving away 8 runs in his 4 overs, said that it was a proud moment for him as the team played with their mother’s name at their back. He also said that Mishra kept on the pressure as he got into the rhythm. He said after the match, “Very proud moment for me. Having my mother’s name was great. My mom Lakshmi is no more. My (adopted) mother Jyoti must be anxious. I’m so sorry that the names got mixed up. I don’t know what happened but you’ll always be there in my heart. Mishy bhai built the pressure. I was nervous but as the match went on, I got my rhythm.”

Rohit Sharma who top-scored in the match with a 70-run innings, said that it was good to spend some time in the middle. Having previous experience of playing at Vizag in IPL, he said that it was helpful having knowledge of the pitch and was also of the opinion that the partnership between him and Kohli and the partnership between Kedar Jadhav and Axar Patel helped the score get past 260. After the match, he said, “Good to get some runs, it was important to have one of the top batters to bat as long as possible. The wicket was not that great. Unfortunately, I pulled some muscle there and I had to play my shots. We have played some IPL games here, I spoke to myself about how to bat here because it is not a typical Vizag wicket. I think me and Virat got the partnership and in the end, Axar and Jadhav got us past 260. I did not play more than 20 balls in the series and today I got to spent some time in the middle and it worked out well. Credit to Mishra as he bowled well.”

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Kiwi captain Kane Williamson blamed the batting debacle for the embarrassing loss, saying that they had fought hard in the ODI series after a whitewash in the Test series but couldn’t show the spirit today. He also said that efforts from Mitchell Santner and Tom Latham were also noteworthy. He said, “Without a doubt, it was a lot above par. They played well and certainly deserve the series. Like I said a lot of credit goes to India but we do expect a lot from our batting. To lose 8 wickets for something is unacceptable. When you play the best side in the world on these kind of surfaces, you learn a lot. We would like to be better in the coming weeks. A lot of positives, after a heavy defeat in the Test series, we fought hard and improved. Today, we did not show that. Someone like Tom Latham played outstandingly, also Santner bowled well.”

Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni credited the bowlers for the win, saying that the pitch also assisted the bowlers. After the pacers had given a breakthrough early, Amit Mishra bullied the Kiwis to get them all out within 79. He was also glad that the team played according to the conditions and the batsmen put up a good total on the board. He also felt that young players like Axar Patel and Kedar Jadhav had learned a lot from the series. He was quoted saying, “One of the best performances by the bowlers. One of the pitches where bowlers bowled with a lot of assistance. There was a bit of dew but what was important was the pace at which they bowled. Fast bowlers gave us the breakthrough and then the spinners bowled well. The good thing is that he (Mishra) bowls slow so even if you commit a mistake, you can recover. Virat was good, there was a time when Rohit got injured but once he got out, he had given us the momentum. What’s important was to respect the conditions. Considering the dew factor, you always have to get some extra runs. I am quite glad that we were able to rest some players as the big Test series is coming up. I felt there is plenty that players like Axar and Jadhav would have learnt from this series. We have to give time to the youngsters, there are a few ways they approach the game. The IPL way, where you keep hitting and chase down the target. But they will learn things with time. You need to respect the game.”

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