KL Rahul's gritty hundred takes India to 284/7 on sluggish surface

Rajkot, Jan 14 (PTI) KL Rahul held a faltering innings together on a sluggish surface with a gutsy hundred, guiding India to 284/7 in the second ODI against New Zealand here on Wednesday.

Rahul produced a gritty unbeaten 112 off 92 balls which included 11 fours and two sixes, forging vital partnerships in the second half and snatching control from the Kiwis who had ran through India’s formidable batting line-up earlier.

New Zealand had seized control with discipline and some stroke of luck as India had slipped from 99 for one to 118 for four before the halfway mark, leaving Rahul and others with the task to rebuild on a track that remained tricky for batters due to its lack of pace and occasional low bounce.

The other major contribution from captain Shubman Gill (56 off 53), who collected his second half-century in as many games.

With the Kiwi fast bowlers dominating the early exchanges by maintaining tight line and lengths, it took as many as 11 balls for Rohit Sharma (24) to get off the mark with a single.

A lofted drive over covers was the highlight as Rohit seemed to be picking up pace, but for the second time in as many matches, he fell looking to clear the ropes with his bat twisting at the time of connection.

The only difference was while he was caught at mid on going inside-out in the first ODI, here, the ball went to the man at deep cover who took a sitter off Kristian Clarke (3/56).

A mishit each proved to be costly for the Indian leadership pair of Gill and Shreyas Iyer (8). A slow start to the innings notwithstanding, Gill had adjusted well to the nature of the pitch to gain pace in his innings, striking nine fours and a six over fine leg with a short-arm jab.

But Gill failed to read a slow and short ball rammed into the pitch by Kyle Jamieson, as he meekly pulled it straight to Daryl Mitchell for an easy grab at midwicket.

Iyer, who also took time settling in, fell cheaply when he hit one straight off Clarke to Bracewell at mid-off.

However, silence befell on the festive crowd at the Niranjan Shah Stadium when an innocuous delivery outside the off-stump took a thick inside edge and left Virat Kohli’s middle stump flattened.

Kohli had begun with a first-ball four but regular wickets at the other end perhaps affected the rhythm with which he has been batting of late, as he had tried to guide the ball behind the wickets but played it on.

With India in need of stability, local hero Ravindra Jadeja (27) walked out amid loud cheers and played his part well in a 73-run stand for the fifth wicket with Rahul.

However, Jadeja too was beaten by one that stopped a little on him as he hit one back to Bracewell for a low catch.

With Nitish Kumar Reddy (20) in row, Rahul added another 57 for the sixth wicket before the comeback all-rounder too fell for a slow, short ball from Zak Foulkes. PTI DDV BS BS