(Football news) India defeated New Zealand by 12 runs in what was a rare close encounter in the 1st ODI. India won the toss and elected to bat first as Rohit Sharma made 4 changes. Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav and Washington Sundar came in for the unavailable trio of KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer and Axar Patel. The men in blue also made one unforced change as Shardul Thakur replaced Umran Malik. New Zealand left Ish Sodhi on the bench as Michael Bracewell was preferred as the 2nd spinner.
Batting first, the Indian innings was anchored by the incredible Shubman Gill. The opener scored his 2nd consecutive hundred and eventually went on to get a double century. He scored 208 off just 149 balls hitting 19 fours and 9 sixes. He single handedly guided India to a total of 349 as wickets kept falling at the other end.
India’s 2nd highest run scorer was Rohit Sharma with 34 which shows how incredible and important Gill’s knock was. Daryl Mitchell and Henry Shipley picked up two wickets each for New Zealand. Mitchell Santner bowled an excellent spell as he gave away only 56 runs in 10 overs and picked up the important wicket of Virat Kohli. Lockie Ferguson, Blair Tickner also got a scalp each.
India started the innings in wonderful fashion as New Zealand were 131/6 in 29 overs. The game looked like it would be over in some time but Michael Bracewell and Mitchell Santner turned up the heat. Santner scored 57 off 45 balls as he played 2nd fiddle to Bracewell who scored 140 off just 78 balls. The all-rounder showed his prowess with the willow as he hit 12 boundaries and a maximum. In the end, New Zealand fell 12 runs short as Bracewell couldn’t finish things off. Mohammed Siraj on his home ground picked up 4 crucial wickets. Kuldeep Yadav and Shardul Thakur picked up 2 wickets each. Mohammed Shami and Hardik Pandya also chipped in with a wicket each.
