India vs New Zealand, 1st ODI, Top Performances: Shubman Gill’s 1st ODI double ton 208(149), Michael Bracewell’s 140(78) and Mohammed Siraj's 4-46 are top performances. India beat New Zealand in a nail-biting thriller by 12 runs
Brief Scores: India 349-8 (Gill 208, Rohit Sharma 34, Mitchell 2-30) beat New Zealand 337 (Michael Bracewell 140, Santner 57, Siraj 4-46, Kuldeep 2-43) by 12 runs
Player of the Match – Shubman Gill (208 off 149)
The first game of the three-match ODI series between India and New Zealand was played on Wednesday at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. India skipper Rohit Sharma won the toss and opted to bat first on what looked like a dry surface at that point in time.
India posted a huge total of 349 in the first innings. New Zealand batters got starts but kept losing wickets at regular intervals until Michael Bracewell and Mitchell Santner gave them much-needed resistance. They put on a brilliant partnership to stun the hosts and nearly pulled victory from the jaws of defeat.
Ahead of the first game, a few Indian players were unavailable for selection. KL Rahul missed out due to his personal commitments, while Shreyas Iyer also missed out due to injury. Rajat Patidar (29) who is yet to make his international debut has been named as Shreyas’s replacement.
On the other hand, New Zealand missed out on the services of some premium players like Kane Williamson and Tim Southee, while star spinner Ish Sodhi was ruled out of the first ODI following a niggle. Tom Latham remains hopeful that he will be available for the next couple of games.
Lower order amasses huge runs for New Zealand; nearly saves the day for them
At 131-6 in the 29th over, an imminent defeat for the Kiwis looked probable on the cards. The Indian bowlers were right on top, and didn’t allow the Kiwi batters to take any breather in the first half of the second essay. With their backs firmly against the wall, Michael Bracewell and Mitchell Santner walked out to the middle and stitched a record 162-run partnership for the seventh wicket which nearly got them over the line.
The spin-bowling duo played an instrumental role in resurrecting New Zealand’s chase by stitching the second-highest partnership in the history of ODI cricket. As soon as they walked to the middle, they started dominating the Indian bowlers right away to catch up with the required run rate.
India’s bowlers were under the pump as sixes and boundaries made their way to all parts of the ground. Santner played the supporting role by scoring at a comparatively modest strike rate of around 127, it was Bracewell who did the majority of the talking with the bat. He scored at a monstrous strike rate of nearly 180 and hammered all the bowlers left, right and centre before succumbing to Shardul Thakur in the last over.
Shubman Gill in the form of his life; achieves rare feat in ODI cricket history
After having a memorable run against Sri Lanka in the previous series, Gill carried on the same momentum and continued from where he left. Shubham Gill’s innings powered India to a mammoth total of 349. He started off his innings very well and scored runs at a very healthy strike rate without taking undue risks. He relied on sheer timing and placement and wasn’t looking to overhit the ball. However, in the end, he went ballistic and launched Lockie Ferguson for three sixes in an over to get past 200 runs and managed to break Tendulkar’s highest individual ODI record. His batting was truly phenomenal and he received a lot of praise from many cricketing legends and analysts from around the world. He eventually perished at 208 (149) but it is important to note that he capitalised after getting a reprieve on 45 against Bracewell’s bowling when Tom Latham missed an easy stumping and caught behind opportunity that could have potentially turned the course of the match.
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Third Umpire’s controversial call on Hardik Pandya’s dismissal
On the fourth ball of the 40th over bowled by Daryl Mitchell, Hardik Pandya tried to guide the ball to the third man region. But he couldn’t make any connection and the ball passed close to his bat and also his off stump. However, the bail from the off stump had come off, and both the players and the on-field umpires were not absolutely certain as to what had happened out there.
Without indicating a soft signal, the decision was referred to TV umpire KN Ananthapadmanabhan. From several replays, it was pretty clear that there was a considerable amount of gap between the ball and the off-stump after the ball passed the striker’s bat. And by taking multiple angles into consideration, it looked like the bails were disturbed by wicketkeeper Tom Latham’s gloves whilst he was collecting the ball in the line with the stumps. Despite having concrete evidence, Ananthapadmanabhan adjudged Pandya bowled which took everyone including the commentators by surprise.
Ananthapadmanabhan has been receiving a fair amount of criticism for making such a call as he could have utilised more time to make that call. Such type of decisions can ruin the image of the game and can negatively change the complexion of the match.
Let’s reflect on the top three performances from the 1st ODI between India and New Zealand played in Hyderabad.
Shubman Gill registers his highest individual ODI score: 208 off 149 deliveries
Shubman Gill creates history by registering his first-ever double ton in ODI cricket in an emphatic fashion. The crowd and fans from around the world were brought to their feet after witnessing a brutal batting performance from Gill which allowed the hosts to register a comfortable win against the Kiwis. His knock of 208 off 149 balls came at a staggering strike rate of 139.59 which included 19 boundaries and 9 sixes.
It will surely be a day to savour for Gill, as he went on to shatter many records. Firstly, he became the fastest Indian player to reach 1000 ODI runs in just 19 innings going past Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan’s joint record of 24 innings. Besides, with his blistering innings, he also managed to make it to the double-centurion club. He is now the 5th Indian player (out of 8 in total) to score a double ton in ODI cricket. A total of 7 double centuries have been scored by India’s players.
Read More: IND v SL, 2nd ODI, 2022-23: Kuldeep's 3-fer, Rahul's 64* help India win 10th home series against SL
Mohammed Siraj derails New Zealand’s chase in the second innings
Mohammed Siraj shined with the ball for India in the second innings. After India posted a gigantic total, the Blackcaps were looking to tee off in pursuit of the huge target. But Siraj bowled very skillfully and didn’t allow New Zealand to put their foot on the accelerator.
Siraj bowled tight lines when he first started off and showcased all his accuracy and experience at the death to restrict the Kiwi batters. His two crucial blows in the 46th over really dented New Zealand’s hope of staging a remarkable victory. He ended with figures of 4-46. Three of the wickets he took were of those batters who could have taken the game away from India – Devon Conway, Tom Latham and Mitchell Santner.
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Michael Bracewell displays all-round batting prowess and takes the game deep for the Kiwis
Michael Bracewell had a dismal outing with the ball and went for 43 runs in his 6 overs without taking a wicket. However, he certainly did not disappoint the viewers with the bat. In fact, he did the unthinkable and almost pulled off a miraculous win for his team. As soon as he arrived, he knew that he had his task cut out with the stiff target ahead of him.
Bracewell went ballistic from ball one, and kept his side in the hunt with his clean striking. His knock of 140 of 78 deliveries featured a staggering 12 boundaries and 10 sixes. This is now his highest individual score in ODI cricket and even surpassed his highest List A score of 127*. He further went on to shatter more records by achieving the second-highest individual score in ODI cricket batting at number 7 while chasing. He is now tied with Thisara Perera of Sri Lanka who also scored 140 back in 2019 in a losing cause while chasing a target against New Zealand.
The New Zealand player certainly managed to give nightmares to India’s bowlers who at one point looked pretty clueless in terms of their strategy and execution. He eventually perished in the last over when Shardul Thakur fired a sharp yorker on his pads to take the final wicket of the New Zealand innings.
Read More: IND v SL, 1st ODI, 2022-23: Kohli's 73rd ton, pacers' sharpness help India begin CWC year with win
Statistical Highlights from India vs New Zealand, First ODI, Hyderabad
Shubman Gill becomes the youngest player (23 years, 4 months and 10 days) to score a double century in ODIs
Shubman Gill becomes the fastest Indian player to get to 1000 runs in ODIs (in 19 innings)
Gill becomes the 5th India batter to score a double ton in ODIs
Michael Bracewell achieved the second-highest strike rate of 179.48 for a century while batting at number 7 in an ODI chase. Only Thisara Perera ranks above Bracewell as the former struck at 189.18 when he made 140 off 74 deliveries batting at number 7 while chasing against New Zealand at Mount Maunganui in January 2019
Michael Bracewell and Mitchell Santner registered the second-highest seventh wicket partnership in an ODI chase (162 runs), trailing behind Afif Hossain and Mehidy Hasan Miraz of Bangladesh (174)
Michael Bracewell scored the fourth-fastest hundred against India in just 57 balls
Michael Bracewell’s 140(78) is now the second century of his ODI career
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What's to Come
After a thrilling last-over encounter, the hosts finally succeeded in going up by 1-0. Team India will be heading to Raipur with loads of confidence. With an invincible record at home, India will be looking to repeat the heroics of Wednesday’s game and seal the series.
One could not write off New Zealand as they have a reputation for staging memorable comebacks. Back in 2016 and 2017, New Zealand put up a great fight and fought India really hard before losing the series in the series decider. Furthermore, on their recently concluded tour of Pakistan, they were 1-0 down and right when a series defeat looked inevitable for the Kiwis, they turned things around with a spirited team effort that took everyone by surprise. So, we can expect a closely contested game at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium in Raipur on January 21, as New Zealand would be desperate for an equaliser in order to stay alive in the series.
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