Ex-India Star Points Out 'Biggest Turning Point' For India In Defeat Against New Zealand
Sadagoppan Ramesh believes that India put themselves under a lot of pressure after allowing New Zealand to post a mammoth total despite losing two early wickets during the third ODI encounter.
Former Indian cricket team batter Sadagoppan Ramesh believes that India put themselves under a lot of pressure after allowing New Zealand to post a mammoth total despite losing two early wickets during the third ODI encounter on Sunday. New Zealand lost the wickets of Devon Conway and Henry Nicholls early but tons from Glenn Phillips and Daryl Mitchell took them to 337/8. In response, Virat Kohli slammed another stunning century but the hosts fell short of the target by 41 runs. Ramesh said that although there were many setbacks, KL Rahul getting dismissed cheaply was the turning point of the match.
"India were under immense pressure once they allowed New Zealand to get to 337 from 5/2. That was their first blunder. Many talked about Nitish Kumar Reddy and Harshit Rana's dismissals after playing so well as turning points. But I would say the biggest turning point was KL Rahul's dismissal."
Rahul slammed a century in the 2nd ODI but could manage to score just 4 runs on Sunday.
"Because he was the one in blistering form like Virat Kohli and Daryl Mitchell. That was the biggest wicket for New Zealand. If Rahul had settled and built a partnership with Virat Kohli, India would have chased this total down easily," he said on YouTube.
This was the first time that India lost a home ODI series against New Zealand and Ramesh expressed his disappointment at India's home record taking a major hit due to the result.
"Unfortunately with this series loss, India created another unwanted record of losing for the first time at home in ODIs to New Zealand. What was once a kingdom for India playing at home has fast turned into a disaster. At least this was a 50% New Zealand side, but in the T20Is, their full side will be there, which will make it extremely challenging for India," he said.
Virat Kohli
KL Rahul
India Cricket Team
New Zealand Cricket Team