Team India surpassed New Zealand by 8 wickets in the second ODI of the three-match series at Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium in Raipur. In a terrific bowling performance, Rohit Sharma and Co. skittled out the visitors for just 108 runs in 34.3 overs. India’s pace battery of Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur and Hardik Pandya, ran through the New Zealand top order and shared seven wickets among each other. Spinner Washington Sundar grabbed two wickets while Kuldeep Yadav scalped one batter in the match. With skipper Rohit’s half-century and cameo by Shubman Gill (40 off 53 balls), the hosts chased down the target, scoring 111/2 in 20.1 overs.
During the toss, captain Rohit had suffered a brain fade moment in deciding whether to bat or to bowl. He took a long pause in the presence of referee Javagal Srinath and New Zealand skipper Tom Latham, before opting to bowl first. On being asked, Rohit told Ravi Shastri that he forgot what he wanted to do after having plenty of discussions with the team management about it before coming for the toss.
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Meanwhile, an old video of former Pakistan captain Javed Miandad has gone viral on social media. Amusingly, Miandad was involved in a similar incident as Rohit where he couldn’t immediately decide on what to do after winning the toss. In the viral video, the Pakistan captain is seen perplexed and dumbfounded on not being able to come to a decision. The presenter asks him “Javed, You have won the toss, what are you going to do?” and he replies “I don’t know, I’ll just go inside and I’ll let you know.”
Team India have taken an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series and will play the third ODI against New Zealand on Tuesday, January 24.
