IND vs NZ, 1st ODI: If you ever question the beauty of One Day Internationals, this game is an answer to all your inhibitions. What a game we've had. Unlike T20 cricket, the ODI format gives you the option to bounce back and this is exactly what happened in India vs New Zealand match that was played in Auckland. Before this match, Shikhar Dhawan had an unbeaten streak of 3 wins, but New Zealand have now put an end to it. The ODI World Cup will be played in 2023 and the men in blue certainly have loads of work to do.
In the first ODI (One Day Internationals), New Zealand won the toss and decided to bowl first. Both Dhawan and Gill got to a rollicking start as they registered a 100-run stand. Things were looking all rosy for India but Dhawan and Gill perished in quick succession, leaving a lot of work for the middle order to do. Lately, there has been a lot of debate about Rishabh Pant and his white ball game, but he failed, yet again, he failed to deliver. India's new superstar Suryakumar Yadav too could not fire. Recently, SKY has been in sensational form, but he looked into loads of troubles as he tried to adjust to the 50-over format. Much to India's respite, their number 3 for the series Shreyas Iyer stitched a partnership with Sanju Samson and steadied India's ship. It was last-minute heroics from Washington Sundar that helped India finish on high.
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When New Zealand's innings began, things did not look pretty good for them. The Indian pacers dominated but they kept on losing wickets in quick succession. Debutant Umran Malik troubled them as he scalped three quick wickets and had New Zealand in all sorts of trouble. The partnership that brewed between Tom Latham and New Zealand stood out as they registered a match-winning partnership of 221 runs. Latham scored 145* off 104 runs and scored at a strike rate of 139.42. On the other hand, skipper Williamson missed his century by a whisker and ended with a score of 94 off 98 deliveries. New Zealand registered this famous victory at Auckland and they leave India with plenty of questions.
