Kuldeep Yadav has taken 8 wickets in the match. (Source: AP)
India captain Virat Kohli on Saturday said that the mindset of the bowlers in his camp is helping the team to produce winning results. India beat New Zealand in the 2nd ODI by 90 runs to take a 2-0 lead in the 5-match series. The spinners produce a winning combination, as Kuldeep Yadav picked up four wickets, while Yuzvendra Chahal and Kedar Jadhav picked a wicket.
Speaking at the post-match presentation ceremony, Kohli said: “Our bowlers are always ready to bowl for you and pick wickets, which is key. They are not content to go wicketless for 40 runs in their quota, they’d rather have more wickets for 60. That mindset is crucial for us.”
The 30-year-old further applauded yet another clinical performance from the team to continue the winning run. “Clinical performance again. We had a par score as Rohit mentioned with the kind of pitch and boundary dimensions here. But we bowled really well and back-to-back clinical performances is really pleasing,” the batsman said.
added that his side would need to work on scoring 15-20 extra runs, which could prove crucial in winning big games at the World Cup. “I made a conscious effort after the second drinks break to take some risks. Once I got out, the new batsman had to take time. These are the things we need to look into with the World Cup nearby. We would like to score those 15-20 runs extra but at the same time, good to see us chip our way to a balanced total,” he said.
New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson admitted the big losses are starting to frustrate him a bit. “Little frustrating, not so much the loss but how we are losing is the problem. Credit to India. Both surfaces so far have been slower than usual but still fair surfaces. Good signs with the ball at some points though we never got control as such. 324 was a good score that could be chased down here,” he said.
He added that his side needs to take crucial lessons from the defeat. “There were some good steps forward, particularly by our bowlers to keep them down to 320-odd. Important not to carried away by results and focus just on small steps. Some of the dismissals were a result of us going too hard maybe. If we had wickets in hand, you never know but we didn’t have wickets in hand. Those are the lessons that we need to take ahead,” he said.
India and New Zealand will meet for the 3rd ODI on Monday.
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