Rajkot, India - Following India's seven-wicket loss to New Zealand in the second ODI at the Niranjan Shah Stadium on Wednesday, captain Shubman Gill has openly addressed the team's failure to capitalize during the crucial middle overs. Gill admitted that the inability to pick up wickets during that phase of the game made defending their total extremely difficult, despite India posting a competitive score of 284/7.
"We couldn't pick up any wickets in the middle overs," Gill stated during the post-match presentation. He elaborated that with five fielders inside the circle, the pressure to consistently take wickets is paramount. "With five fielders in, if you don't keep taking wickets in the middle overs, it becomes very difficult, even if we had added 15-20 more runs," he explained. Gill believes that even an additional 20 runs wouldn't have significantly altered the outcome without breakthroughs in the middle overs.
India's innings was built around KL Rahul’s unbeaten 112 off 92 balls, his eighth ODI century. Gill himself contributed a fluent 56 at the top of the order. However, the team's momentum faltered in the final phase, and they were unable to fully capitalize on a good batting surface, falling short of breaching the 300-run mark. New Zealand pacer Kristian Clarke proved particularly effective, claiming 3 for 56 and stifling India's attempts to accelerate.
In response, New Zealand chased down the target with relative ease, finishing at 286/3 in 47.3 overs. Daryl Mitchell's unbeaten 131 was the cornerstone of the chase, supported by Will Young's 87. Mitchell and Young forged a commanding 162-run partnership off 152 balls for the third wicket, effectively taking the game away from India.
Gill also pointed out that the pitch conditions changed as the game progressed. "In the first 10-15 overs that we bowled, the ball was doing a little bit," he noted. However, he felt that the bowlers could have been more proactive and adventurous in their approach during the middle overs. "But after 20-25 overs, the wicket may be settled in a little bit, but I think we could have been a little bit more brave while bowling in the middle overs. We could have taken a little bit more chances," Gill said.
Furthermore, Gill acknowledged that fielding lapses contributed to the defeat. "Even in the last match, we let down a couple of chances," he stated. He emphasized the team's continuous efforts to improve their fielding standards, recognizing that missed opportunities can be decisive in this format.
With the series now level at 1-1, Gill and the Indian team will look to address these shortcomings and come back stronger in the decisive final ODI on January 18. New Zealand captain Michael Bracewell praised his team's all-round performance in levelling the series.
