Rajkot: Daryl Mitchell’s unbeaten 131 eclipsed KL Rahul’s century as New Zealand beat India by seven wickets in the second ODI of the three-match series at the Niranjan Shah Stadium on Wednesday.
Batting first, the home team managed to post 284/7 in 50 overs despite Rahul’s blistering century and captain Shubman Gill’s anchoring half-century.
Rahul scored 112 runs off 92 balls with 11 fours and a six while Gill scored 56 runs off 53 balls with 9 fours and a six.
Apart from them, none of the Indian players, including the senior duo of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, scored 27 off 44 balls.
Christian Clarke was the standout bowler for New Zealand, taking 3 for 56 from his 8 overs, while Kyle Jamieson, Zach Foulkes, Jayden Lennox and Michael Bracewell all chipped in with a scalp each.
Chasing a tough target of 285 runs, the visitors easily hit the winning runs with 3 wickets and 15 balls to spare thanks to a monumental performance by Mitchell.
New Zealand had a mixed start to their innings as they lost both openers Devon Conway (16) and Henry Nicholls (10) for 46 in 13 overs.
After an early stumble, Mitchell joined Will Young in the middle and the duo anchored New Zealand’s batting brilliantly with a 162-run partnership for the third wicket.
Young was instrumental in New Zealand’s successful run chase, scoring 87 runs off 98 balls with 7 fours.
Mitchell, on the other hand, stood his ground and eventually led New Zealand to a match-winning 78-run partnership for the fourth wicket with Glenn Phillips, who scored an unbeaten 32 off 25 balls.
Daryl Mitchell continued to top score with an unbeaten 131 off 117 balls with 11 fours and 2 sixes and was adjudged the man of the match.
On the Indian side, Harshit Rana, Prashit Krishna and Kuldeep Yadav took one wicket each.
The impressive victory helped New Zealand level the series against India at 1-1, with the third and final match scheduled for Sunday in Indore.