India vs New Zealand 2017: Virat Kohli Tops Another Chart As Hosts Level The Series With A Clinical Win

The India vs New Zealand 2017 series couldn’t have taken off with a better start as after a long time we have seen the Virat Kohli-led squad being challenged on their home turf, resulting in a back and forth ODI fixture.

While Wankhede witnessed the Kiwis ace a stiff chase it was time for the hosts to blow some life into the series as they went on leveling the India vs New Zealand 2017 ODI fixture by 1-1. After opting to bat first, Kane Williamson & Co. couldn’t manage to register a good start as Bhuvneshwar Kumar (10-45-3) spearheaded the Indian bowling attack, dismissing both the openers in the first seven overs, with Jasprit Bumrah (10-38-2) sending the skipper back to pavilion in the 6th over.

Watch Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s 3-wicket haul from the India vs New Zealand 2017 2nd ODI here.

Tom Latham (38), Henry Nicholls (42) and Colin de Grandhomme (41) did manage to add some runs to the scoreboard but a clinical Yuzvendra Chahal (8-36-2), along with the pace bowling attack, ended New Zealand’s innings at 230 runs.

In response, apart from Rohit Sharma’s early dismissal (7), Pune witnessed a complete performance from the Indian batting lineup as Virat Kohli (29) and Shikhar Dhawan (68) began to consolidate some runs. Although the Indian skipper didn’t score big, Dinesh Karthik (64*) came to the party and courtesy his unbeaten knock and cameos from Hardik Pandya (30) as well as MS Dhoni (18*), India got over the finish line with four overs as well as six wickets left to spare.

Here are some interesting statistics from the India vs New Zealand 2017 2nd ODI.

• Virat Kohli has become the leading run scorer in International cricket in 2017 with 1,991 runs, leaving in-form South African batsman, Hashim Amla (1985) behind.

• Tim Southee dismissed Rohit Sharma for the fifth time in ODIs while only Angelo Mathews (7) has sent him back, packing more times.

• After Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Australia and West Indies, New Zealand became the fifth cricket playing side to play 100 or more ODIs against India.

• Team India have used 11 different players for the No.4 spot in ODIs since the World Cup 2015, the most by any team.

• Bhuvneshwar Kumar, with 12 wickets, became the highest wicket-taker during power plays in ODIs, this year.

• Hardik Pandya is now only second to Rohit Sharma in the list of most numbers of sixes being hit by a player in 2017. While Pandya has scored 30 sixes, Rohit Sharma leads with 31.

• MS Dhoni now has a total of 76 not outs in ODIs and needs only 199 runs to join the elite 10,000- runs club in ODIs.

• Dinesh Karthik’s last ODI fifty in India before this match came in Gwalior in Feb 2010 against South Africa, on the same day when Sachin Tendulkar registered his first ODI double century.

• After getting dismissed at 3, this is the second time since 2013 that Kane Williamson went home with a single-digit score in successive ODIs.

• The last time India’s pace attack picked up six wickets or more wickets in an ODI played in home conditions was against Sri Lanka in November 2014 at the Eden Gardens.

With the India vs New Zealand 2017 series tied 1-1, the focus now shifts to Green Park, Kanpur which will host the series decider on 29th October.