Rajkot (Gujarat) [India], January 14 : A brilliant century by Daryl Mitchell and his 162-run partnership with Will Young sunk Team India to a seven-wicket loss against New Zealand in the second ODI at Rajkot on Wednesday, setting up an exciting decider for Sunday.
India, which were asked by New Zealand to bat first, posted 284/7, carried by a marvellous century from KL Rahul (112* in 92 balls, with 12 fours and a six) and a 70-run opening stand between Rohit Sharma (24 in 38 balls, with four boundaries) and skipper Shubman Gill (56 in 53 balls, with nine fours and a six).
The visitors lost their two wickets for just 43 runs, but Mitchell (131* in 117 balls, with 11 fours and two sixes) and Young (87 in 98 balls, with seven fours) finished any chance for India with their brilliant 162-run stand for the third wicket.
Chasing 285 for victory, opener Devon Conway started off with some boundaries against Mohammed Siraj and Harshit Rana, untill Harshit cleaned up the left-hander's stumps for a 21-ball 16, with three fours. New Zealand was 22/1 in 5.2 overs.
Will Young teamed up with Henry Nicholls, and the team was 34/1 at the end of 10 overs. India had managed to contain the Kiwis in the powerplay. However, a jolt struck Kiwis as an edge off Nicholls bat crashed into his stumps, removing him for a sluggish 24-ball 10. Prasidh Krishna got his first wicket. India had New Zealand down at 46/2 in 12.4 overs.
New Zealand reached the 50-run mark in 13.2 overs.
Young combined with Daryl Mitchell to take the chase forward, and at the end of 20 overs, Kiwis were looking decent at 82/2, with Mitchell getting a six against Nitish Kumar Reddy's bowling and a four against Ravindra Jadeja. Mitchell was bravely counter-attacking Kuldeep Yadav, and 50-run stand between him and Young was up in 49 balls.
The visitors reached the 100-run mark in 21.5 overs. Halfway through their innings, NZ was 117/2, with Young (40*) and Mitchell (47*) unbeaten.
Mitchell continued his fine run in the series, reaching back-to-back fifties in the series in just 52 balls, with three fours and two sixes.
Boundaries kept coming at a steady pace for Kiwis, as Mitchell-Young brought up their 100-run stand in 102 balls and reached the 150-run mark in 30.1 overs.
India's bowling was looking uncharacteristically flat, with Kuldeep conceding a couple of boundaries against Young. Also, Jadeja fired a direct hit, which could have taken out Mitchell had it connected, but it was not meant to be. On the next delivery, Mitchell got another reprieve as Krishna dropped his catch at long-on, making it a very eventful 36th over, with the Kiwis touching the 200-run mark.
The 162-run stand between the third wicket ended courtesy Kuldeep, as Young attempted to pull his delivery, but handed a catch to Nitish, who ran to his left at deep mid-wicket. The batter was gone for a 98-ball 87, with seven fours. NZ was 208/3 in 38 overs.
At the end of 40 overs, NZ was 227/3, with Mitchell (96*) and Glenn Phillips (9*) running strong. Mitchell, the world number two batter, set his sights for the top rank as he completed his eighth ODI ton in 96 balls, with seven fours and two sixes.
Mitchell hit two successive boundaries against Harshit in the 44th over, bringing up NZ's 250-run mark in 43.2 overs. The duo also completed their 50-run stand for the fourth wicket in 42 balls, with Mitchell being the main contributor.
Mitchell and Phillips took NZ to a win, with seven wickets and 15 balls left.
Earlier, a fantastic unbeaten century from star wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul helped India to post 284/7 in 50 overs.
After being asked to bat first, India were off to a cautious start as they made 18/0 in six overs. However, Rohit Sharma and captain Shubman Gill changed gears and took India to 57/0 in 10 overs, providing a good start.
During the 13th over, Kristian Clarke dismissed Sharma for 24 runs off 38 deliveries, including four boundaries.
The right-handed batter attempted a big shot but sliced towards the sweeper cover region, where Will Young took a simple catch. Kristian Clarke also broke the 70-run opening partnership.
Indian captain Gill completed his half-century during the last ball of the 15th over as hosts reached 87/1. This was Gill's fifth 50-plus score in seven ODI innings for Shubman Gill against New Zealand in India.
Speedster Kyle Jamieson then removed dangerous Gill during the fifth ball of the 17th over. The Indian captain departed after scoring 56 off 53 deliveries, including nine fours and one six. India was 99/2 in 16.5 overs.
Wickets continued to fall as Kristian Clarke dismissed Shreyas Iyer for eight runs during the 22nd over and Virat Kohli for 23 runs during the 24th over, as India slumped to 120/4.
After scoring 23 runs, Virat Kohli became India's highest run-scorer against New Zealand in ODIs, surpassing Sachin Tendulkar (1750). Overall, Australian legend Ricky Ponting is ahead of Kohli with 1971 runs.
India reached 142/4 after 30 overs, but after taking three quick wickets, KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja stabilised the innings.
However, the crucial 73-run partnership with Jadeja and Rahul was broken after spinner Michael Bracewell took a fantastic caught and bowled, which removed Jadeja on the first ball of the 39th over. However, as India reached 199/5, KL Rahul scored his 21st half-century in the 40th over.
During the second ball of the 47th over, Zakary Foulkes dismissed all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy after Glenn Phillips took a simple catch at the mid-wicket region. Reddy departed after scoring 20 runs off 21 balls, including one six. India was 248/6 in 46.2 overs after this 57-run stand was broken.
During the last ball of the 49th over, the Indian wicketkeeper-batter Rahul completed his eighth ODI century in 87 deliveries. Rahul's century came when India was in a spot of bother at 191/5. It was Rahul's 2nd ODI century against New Zealand, second while batting at number five or below and third as a wicket-keeper.
Rahul's knock helped India post 284/7 in 50 overs, with him staying unbeaten at 112 runs off 92 deliveries, including 11 fours and one six.
With the ball, Kyle Jamieson (1/70), Zakary Foulkes (1/67), Kristian Clarke (3/56), Jayden Lennox (1/42) and captain Michael Bracewell (1/34) were among the wicket takers for New Zealand.
Brief score: India 284/7 in 50 overs (KL Rahul 112*, Shubman Gill 56; Kristian Clarke 3/56) vs New Zealand: 286/3 in 47.3 overs (Daryl Mitchell 131*, Will Young 87, Prasidh Krishna 9/49).