“An innings to remember today from Tom Latham. Always rated him as a top player but he went to another level today,” tweeted commentator Harsha Bhogle after New Zealand’s thumping 7-wicket win over India in the first ODI.
There was something about Latham’s knock in Auckland where the hosts chased down a target of 307 by with 17 balls to spare. The left-handed batter’s onslaught against Shardul Thakur in the 40th over might have grabbed the limelight but it seemed that he was pretty clear about the plans right from the word go.
He was a man on a mission. His first task was to steady the ship when at 88/3. The next step was to build a partnership. And, the final one was to unleash an assault especially against a bowler who is known to provide breakthroughs at crucial junctures.
While he respected the good deliveries, Latham didn’t shy away from dispatching the ones in the arc to the boundary ropes and eventually remained unbeaten at 145 off 104 which included five maximums and 19 fours, pretty much a T20 knock, decorated with textbook strokes.
A lot of credit also goes to Kane Williamson who took his time to get settled but was glued to the crease right till the end. The right-hander scored 94* off 98.
The action now shifts to Hamilton for the second ODI. Men in Blue have are in a do-or-die situation because a defeat will hand the Kiwis an unassailable lead.
India didn’t really make big mistakes in the first clash barring some tactical errors. The experiment of going with five bowlers backfired as Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik and Shardul got hit for some runs in the later stages of the run chase.
Moreover, Yuzvendra Chahal failed to pick a wicket and gave away runs at an economy rate of over 6. Washington Sundar was the only bowler with an economy rate of less than 6 but he, too, remained wicket-less.
Pant or Samson? Who sits out?
It’s a simple equation. India need a sixth bowling option and the two most suited for the position are Deepak Hooda and Deepak Chahar.
Hooda in his brief career has already scored a T20I hundred and can be used as a floater in the batting unit. Additionally, he can be used as the third spinner who can chip in with 5-6 overs or maybe 10, if and when required.
Chahar, on the other hand, is someone who will bowl a full quota of 10 overs and has shown his abilities with the bat. The right-handed player has a couple of ODI fifties to his name.
But the question is: who sits out if one them has to be accommodated. India included two wicket-keeper batters (Rishabh Pant & Sanju Samson) in the XI in the first match and there is a high possibility of one of them sitting out in the second fixture.
The dilemmas don’t end there.
Pant, being a left-handed batter and an aggressive one, brings a lot to the table. Though, the Delhi player has been out of touch, but he can score runs quickly and is brutal on his day.
Meanwhile, Sanju Samson made good use of the opportunity in the first match. The visitors were in a spot of bother when Samson joined Shreyas Iyer in the middle.
The two stitched a partnership of 94 runs for the fifth wicket while Samson scored 36 off 38. Moreover, he is pretty good behind the wickets too.
The team management will have to take a bold decision to ask either Pant or Samson to sit out if they want to have a sixth bowling option.
Kane Williamson back in groove!
New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson capitalised perfectly on the chance that was thrown at him. Chasing a stiff total, the hosts certainly needed a Williamson-esque innings to go over the line.
Well, he wasn’t looking in the greatest of form initially but Williamson put in all the experience and frustrated the Indian bowlers by remaining unbeaten at one end. While Latham was the one who scored runs at a brisk pace, Williamson held the fort at the other, kept rotating the strike, the scoreboard moving and eventually looked as if he was back into the groove after the right-hander pulled a couple of short deliveries to the fence.
It’s a good or probably a great news for New Zealand but surely a headache for India.
As far as the visitors are concerned, they will have to take some tough calls to stay alive in the series.
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