How India 'Dodged A Bullet' Against New Zealand In 2nd ODI: Ex-Star Explains

A 135-run chase turned into a tricky affair for India during the second ODI against New Zealand in Wellington on Saturday. India were 47/4 at one stage before No. 6 batter KL Rahul (26*, 38 balls) played with patience and guided the team to victory. Former India opener Aakash Chopra said India did dodge a bullet in the second ODI to take a 2-0 lead in the five-match series. "A 135-run chase turned out to be a tough one. We were staring at defeat if it was not for the rain and also for Rahul, who saved our blushes, to be fair. Nabi can bat, so he was still there. So I was hopeful till Nabi was there. But KL Rahul was looking extremely assured, so you would expect him to actually farm the strike and expect Nabi to just play sensible cricket. I was hoping that Rahul would take us across the line," Chopra said on ESPNcricinfo.

"In all fairness, it takes only one ball to dismiss KL Rahul. If that would have happened... Yes, we have dodged a bullet, it's a fair assessment," Chopra added.

Another former India player, Ajay Jadeja, noted that India's bowling performance was one of the most disciplined in recent times.

"The bowling was extremely disciplined. It's not like there was a huge difference in assistance between the previous game and this one, but the bowling was exceptional today. There was rarely a bad ball, and the batters aren't used to that these days. The batters were used to playing out that period in the 1980s," the former India all-rounder said on Sony Sports.

"After the first spell, Gurnoor Brar came and troubled the batters with bounce. When Axar Patel came on to bowl, wickets had already fallen, but it was a different challenge, and no one could live up to it. This isn't an experienced bowling attack, but they bowled like an experienced bowling attack," he added.

The most impressive part of India's performance was that the bowlers did not move away from the plan even when they were hit for runs on a couple of occasions.

"I would go to the extent of saying that it's been a very long time since I have seen such disciplined bowling from any team because they usually try something different, assuming that the batter would attack. Daryl Mitchell tried for some time. He hit Anshul Kamboj for two fours in an over to unsettle them, but they maintained their patience. It was an extremely impressive performance," Jadeja added.

"If you see it as a team, Arshdeep Singh got four wickets in the last match, and others got fewer. Just because he didn't get wickets in this game doesn't mean he didn't bowl well. In fact, he bowled extremely well, probably better than when he took four wickets in the previous game."

Featured Video Of The Day

India Ends CWG Boxing Campaign With Record-Breaking Seven Gold Medals