India vs New Zealand 2nd ODI, highlights: India lose No. 1 ranking as Kiwis win by 15 runs

New Zealand took a 2-0 lead in the five-match series with a 15-run victory (by D/L method). Catch all the highlights, as they happen. (Scorecard | Match Report)

 

So, as it stands, the hosts New Zealand are in a comfortable position with a 2-0 lead over India, who started the series as overwhelming favourites. Things have not gone India's way and in both losses, they have marginally fallen short of their target. Brendon McCullum's side have held their nerve in crunch situations to eke out two good wins. The next ODI on Saturday at Auckland gives Kiwis a chance to take an unassailable advantage in the series. As far as India are concerned, they will have their backs to the wall and play to stay alive in the series. An exciting contest is on the cards as Dhoni & Co. plot their revival. For now, the Kiwis can rejoice and prepare well to record a series win over ODI giants India on Saturday.

15.27 (IST): Brendon McCullum on Corey Anderson's bowling performance: Corey Anderson puts pressure on himself. He came back nicely after bad start. I wanted to give him another opportunity and he did well.

 

15.26 (IST): Brendon McCullum on New Zealand's bowling: Bowlers responded well under pressure. They're sitting up and performing well. It was not easy to bowl against a world-class line-up.

 

15.25 (IST): Brendon McCullum on New Zealand's batting: I thought the batting of Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor and Martin Guptill was good. Got a good platform and momentum to score big later on.

 

15.24 (IST): Brendon McCullum on win: We needed those big runs as India have a good batting line-up. Pleased with tonight's performance. Two great games so far.

 

15.23 (IST): MS Dhoni on Indian bowling: The fast bowlers did well, Bhuvneshwar Kumar was good in the death overs. Shami was the pick of the bowlers again Good effort from the bowlers side.  In a shortened game, there will always be extra 20-30 runs.

 

15.22 (IST): MS Dhoni at the presentation ceremony: If you compare first 10 overs of both the sides, it was doing a bit for New Zealand bowlers. It was difficult to play big strokes. The wicket changed to some extent in 2nd innings. In such a chase, it was important for me and Virat Kohli to continue our partnership but we got out.

 

15.03 (IST): It's all over! The Kiwis have kept their momentum and taken an impressive 2-0 lead in the five-match series with a 15-run win in the 2nd ODI at Hamilton based on D/L method. Chasing 297, it was down to Virat Kohli again to set the tone for India's chase. He did just that as he came out with a positive intent and improved the scoring rate. He and Rahane added a 90-run stand, the highest for the third wicket in Seddon Park, Hamilton. Once Rahane departed, it was down to MS Dhoni, who came ahead of Suresh Raina, and Kohli to keep India in the hunt as the asking rate kept climbing. In a bid to counter that, Kohli perished while trying to play a big shot. Raina and Dhoni then came together when the asking rate went beyond 10 runs an over. Tim Southee (4 for 72) and Corey Anderson (3 for 67) were the pick of the bowlers for the Kiwis who kept India away from the target.

14.59 (IST): The rain has come down and the umpires have dislodged the bails and awarded the game to the hosts with India needing 20 from 3 balls. With this, India have conceded their No. 1 rankings in ODIs to Australia.

14.55 (IST): Bhuvneshwar Kumar scores two fours in two balls and takes a single. India 275/8, need 22 to win from six balls.

14.48 (IST): Now Jadeja is gone too! He is bowled by Anderson. IND 259/7 in 39.4 overs. Need 38 from 14 balls.

14.45 (IST): Dhoni's valiant effort comes to an end as he hits one to Williamson at short fine leg. Anderson gets the wicket. Dhoni goes for 55, India 257/6 in 39.1 overs. Need 40 from 17 balls.

14.38 (IST): 52nd ODI Fifty for MS Dhoni! He gets to the milestone with a six. It has come in 42 balls. IND 257/5 in 39 overs, need 40 off 18 deliveries.

14.34 (IST): Anderson comes on and Dhoni lashes out at him to get two back-to-back boundaries. IND 246/5 in 37.3 overs. Need 51 off 27 balls.

14.31 (IST): Another bat change for Dhoni! He has called out for another collection of bats to pick from. IND 236/5 in 37 overs. Need 61 to win from 30 balls.

14.27 (IST): Raina is gone! He launched into a full ball from Mills but can't clear Southee in the deep. IND 226/5 in 36.1 overs, need 71 off 35 balls. Ravindra Jadeja walks out next.

14.23 (IST): Raina gets a boundary in his favourite deep mid-wicket area. This comes two balls after Dhoni guided the ball to the fine leg fence. Good over for India as 10 runs come off it. IND 226/4 in 36 overs. Need 71 off 36 balls.

14.21 (IST): The 50-run stand for the fifth wicket between Raina and Dhoni comes up. It has taken then just 31 balls.

 

14.18 (IST): Exceptional over from Southee in the circumstances. Just five runs from it. IND 216/4 in 35 overs, need 81 to win from 42 balls.

14.15 (IST): Dhoni and Raina collect 11 runs from the McClenaghan over. IND 211/4 in 34 overs, need 86 to win from 48 balls.

14.10 (IST): 200 up for India and the powerplay comes to an end. 42 runs have come from the four overs. IND 200/4 in 33 overs, need 97 to win from 54 deliveries.

14.04 (IST): Misfield! A rare one from Brendon McCullum. He lets the ball go through his legs and to the long off fence. Raina follows it up with hook and collects another four.

14.01 (IST): Eight runs come for Southee's over as India reach 190/4 in 32 overs, still needing 107 to win from 10 overs.

13.58 (IST): MS Dhoni slams back-to-back fours! 16 runs come from the over. India 182/4 in 31 overs, need 115 to win from 11 overs.

13.55 (IST): FOUR! Raina moves out and makes room to play a length delivery and manages to cut the ball towards wide third man fence.

13.54 (IST): Suresh Raina has walked out to the middle. He and Dhoni need to stay at the wicket if India are to try and the Kiwis in this steep run chase.

13.50 (IST): Oh dear! Turn away if you're an Indian fan as Virat Kohli has perished. Just a couple of deliveries after pulling Southee to the mid-wicket fence, he attempted it again but extra bounce did him in. Kohli went ahead with the shot anyway and hit it straight to the mid-on fielder. He fell for 78. IND 166-4 in 30 overs. India need 131 runs to win from 12 overs.

13.46 (IST): India reach 157/3 in 29 overs and have taken the batting powerplay. Remember, it will be only for four overs from 30th to the 33rd. In the break, Dhoni had called for a change in bat. Some fireworks can surely be expected.

13.42 (IST): What a powerful stroke off the wrists! Kohli has just used his bottom hand to perfection and slammed a six over deep midwicket. With that he moves into the 70s. IND 155/3 in 28.1 overs.

13.35 (IST): India now need to score at more than ten runs an over, with the score at 146/3 in 27 overs. India need 151 more to win from 90 deliveries.

13.27 (IST): MS Dhoni has walked out at No. 5 ahead of out-of-form Suresh Raina. Seems like the Indian skipper fancies the run chase.

13.24 (IST): FACTOID: The 90-run stand between Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane is the highest for the 3rd wicket at Seddon Park, Hamilton.

 

13.23 (IST): GONE! Rahane is caught behind by Luke Ronchi. McClenaghan has struck on his return. Rahane falls for 33 off 36 balls. IND 127-3 in 23.4 overs.

13.19 (IST): Mitchell McClenaghan is back into the attack. India now need 172 off 114 balls.

13.15 (IST): While Kohli has been in the thick of the action ever since coming out to bat, Rahane too has silently played the role of a supporter and has accelerated, if and when required. He has 33 off 36 balls. IND 120/2 in 22 overs.

13.12 (IST): Despite Kohli and Rahane's fightback, India's asking rate is still around 9 runs an over. Kohli has not taken the foot off the pedal but has a long way to go. He is now on 48 off  39 balls, two short of his 29th ODI fifty. India 118/2 in 21.4 overs.

 

13.10 (IST): India reach 104/2 in 20 overs. Ajinkya Rahane and Virat Kolhi have added 67 runs for the third wicket and have kept India in the chase.

13.00 (IST): Corey Anderson comes into the attack, starts round the wicket to Kohli.

12.54 (IST): Ajinkya Rahane plays over the top and is lucky not to find the fielder and picks up a couple of runs. The next ball, he takes the aerial route again to get a boundary through extra cover. These two are capable of leading India's fightback here. India 71/2 in 15.3 overs

12.47 (IST): Virat Kohli slams another six! He plays a lofted cover drive off Tim Southee. India 60/1 in 8.5 overs

12.41 (IST): Brendon McCullum turns to his brother, Nathan to turn his arm over in a bid to get another breakthrough.

12.38 (IST): Smacked! Kohli is slowly coming into the 'big run chase' groove now. He makes room and thwacks the ball through covers for four. Jesse Ryder at short cover got a finger to the ball but that didn't alter the outcome. That brings up India's 50.

12.34 (IST): Sublime stuff! Kohli casually jumps down the track and drives the ball through the offside to the boundary.

12.32 (IST): Ajinkya Rahane walks out at number four to join Kohli.

12.30 (IST): 100 ODI wickets for Time Southee! He gets rid of Rohit Sharma who wasn't very happy with the umpire's decision to rule him caught behind by Luke Ronchi.

12.27 (IST): Rohit Sharma pulls! A well-played pull shot from Rohit as Southee serves a short delivery. The ball is in the air for a long time but Rohit managed to score it in the vacant area. He gets another boundary. India 37/1 in 9.2 overs.

12.25 (IST): SIX! The first of the innings and it has come off Rohit Sharma's willow. He launched into a length delivery and hit it straight back. India 32/1 in 9 overs.

12.21 (IST): Virat Kohli comes to bat and plays an inch-perfect flick through midwicket in the second ball he faced to get off the mark with a boundary. India 26/1 in 8 overs.

12.20 (IST): Bowled him! Dhawan comes down the wicket and tries to slog but is nowhere near the ball that goes on to hit the off-stump. Tim Southee has a wicket and India are 22/1 in 7.4 overs.

12.14 (IST): Dhawan has been a bit rusty so far. He's failed to middle the ball and on most occasion he has found the fielder. India 21/0 in 7 overs.

12.12 (IST): India have started cautiously here. Rohit has survived a couple of chances and has been content just defending at deliveries. Same has been the case with Dhawan, who is being tested every now and then with the short ball. India 20/0 in 6 overs.

12.06 (IST): DROPPED! Rohit Sharma hit it straight to Kane Williamson at point who was in the right position but somehow failed to catch the ball. That's the second life for Rohit. He'd love to make that count.

12.02 (IST): A big shout for LBW! McClenaghan goes up in vociferous appeal and cannot that he is turned down. The ball was an away swinger to Rohit Sharma and it pitched on leg and struck him in line. The umpire probably thought it could have pitched outside. Replays suggested that would have hit the leg stump. Rohit survives. India 7/0 in 3.4 overs.

11.55 (IST): Updated restrictions due to reduced game: Only two bowler can bowl a maximum of nine overs and three bowlers can bowl a maximum of eight. Mandatory batting powerplay for India will be 9 overs.

11.52 (IST): Mitchell McClenaghan starts from the other end. He bowls a maiden over to Dhawan, ending with a short delivery which Dhawan gets behind very well. India 5-0 in 2 overs.

11.50 (IST): Rohit Sharma plays a glorious cover drive to get India's chase up and running. India 5-0 in 1 over.

11.46 (IST): The Indian openers Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan are out in the middle. Kyle Mills has the new ball.

11.42 (IST): India have an arduous task ahead as they need to chase 297 in 42 overs at 7.07 runs per over.

11.27 (IST): Since rain halted play and led to reduction in overs after New Zealand had played 33 overs, India's revised total as per the Duckworth-Lewis method is 297 in 42 overs.

11.18 (IST): New Zealand reach 271/7 in 42 overs. Another phenomenal performances from the hosts with usual suspects putting their hand up and steering their side to a commanding position. An 87-ball 77 from Williamson set the tone initially and Ross Taylor and Corey Anderson took it on from there to seemlessly shift gears as rain halted play and reduced the tie to 42-overs-a-side. Corey slaughtered the Indian bowling on his way to 44 of 16 balls and came close to leveling the record of the fastest ODI fifty (17 balls). He even attempted it but was caught in the deep by Dhawan. A flurry of wickets followed but enough damage was already done. Luke Ronchi blazed his way to 18 off 10 deliveries as New Zealand finished on 271/7 in 42 overs and stand a good chance to go 2-0 up in the series and push India off the top of the ODI rankings.

11.11 (IST): Now Bhuvneshwar gets a wicket! He cleans up Nathan McCullum with a yorker as McCullum failed to bring his bat down on time. NZ 252/7 in 40.1 overs

11.06 (IST): Shami gets another one! Ross Taylor is gone for a sparkling 57, caught behind by Dhoni. NZ 251/6 in 39.4 overs.

11.01 (IST): Shami strikes! Brendon McCullum is caught and bowled by him for a duck. NZ 250/5 in 39.2 overs.

 

10.59 (IST): Corey is gone! He attempts another six but surprisingly hasn't put enough behind that shot. Shikhar Dhawan pulls off a good catch in the deep to send Anderson back for 44 off 17 balls. NZ 248/4 in 38.5 overs.

10.56 (IST): Anderson slams another biggie, this time over point and then takes a single off the next ball and moves to 44 off 16 balls. He's just one six away from equaling Sanath Jayasuriya's record of the fastest ODI fifty.

10.53 (IST): Anderson smokes another one, now over long on as Ishant offers a length delivery on a platter to the big-hitting Kiwi.

10.51 (IST): Anderson is currently batting on 31 off 13 balls as Ishant comes into the attack. Brace yourselves for a stroke-filled finish to this innings.

10.48 (IST): Ashwin has the ball now and Anderson slams it over his favourite mid-wicket region for a six. The ball was bowled at over 100 kmph. Ashwin follows it up with a slower one and gets the same treatment. Anderson and Taylor have already added 56 runs. 17 runs from the over, NZ 232/3 in 38 overs.

10.45 (IST): Bhuvneshwar Kumar comes into the attack. Ross Taylor slams three consecutive fours to reach his half-century, his 26th in ODIs. NZ 214/3 in 36.5 overs.

 

10.43 (IST): Another 13-run over comes to an end with NZ bringing up their 200.

10.39 (IST): Here comes the first six off Anderson's willow! He whacks a half-volley to straight boundary and collects maximum from it.

10.38 (IST): Taylor is now closing in on his 26th ODI fifty. Mohammed Shami is back into the attack.

10.36 (IST): Ross Taylor gets into the act and finishes off the over with two consecutive boundaries. This over was the start of the batting powerplay and the Kiwis picked up 13 runs off it. NZ 187/3 in 35 overs.

10.35 (IST): Big-hitting Corey Anderson walks out and smacks the second ball he faces to the mid-wicket fence. The stage is perfectly set for Anderson to display his pyrotechnics.

10.34 (IST): Jadeja strikes! Kane Williamson's fluent knock has been cut short by smart glovework from Dhoni from behind the stumps. Williamson walks back after a well-made 77, NZ 174/3 in 34.1 overs.

10.28 (IST): Players are walking out. It is going to be a 42 overs game. The shortened game will have a batting powerplay of four overs and India will have just nine overs of mandatory powerplay when they bat. Two Kiwi bowlers can bowl a maximum of nine overs.

10.18 (IST): If play resumes at 6 pm local time, without any rain from now till then, the game will be reduced to a 42-overs-a-side affair.

 

10.10 (IST): The rain has stopped and the umpires are targeting resumption at 6 pm local time (10.30 IST) if it doesn't start raining again.

09.45 (IST): Rain update: Oh gosh! Just when players were about to make their way out at 9.45 IST, they were forced to go back inside as it began raining again. Sure chance of loss of overs when play resumes.

09.32 (IST): Rain Update: Seems like it has started to drizzle again. Covers are back on. But the good news is there is a high chance of it passing on like the first shower.

09.12 (IST): Rain Update: The latest update is that the match is set to resume at 5 pm local time, which is 15 minutes away.

08.56 (IST): As we wait (patiently) for the covers to come off, here's taking a look at what Kane Williamson has been doing in the ODI circuit in the recent past. In his last 10 innings, he has scored 55, 67, 47, 71 and 76. Williamson also scored 131 on his Test debut against India at Ahmedabad in 2010, becoming only the eighth Kiwi cricketer to score a ton on debut.

08.39 (IST): Oh dear, rain has returned! The players are running off again as the groundstaff quickly put the covers on. This could be a longer break than the last time. NZ 170/2 in 33.2 overs.

08.37 (IST): 50-run stand! Ross Taylor and Kane Williamson, who added 121 runs for the third wicket in the first ODI, have added 50 here.

08.22 (IST): Ishant Sharma is now back into the attack. He has conceded 19 from 3 overs so far.

08.20 (IST): There has been some uneven bounce and turn for the spinners so far. Even Raina has managed to surprise the batsmen with the purchase he has got from the wicket.

08.19 (IST): 150 comes up for the Kiwis. It has come in 29 overs with Williamson (65) and Taylor (18) in the middle.

08.16 (IST): Meanwhile, Williamson continues to time the ball to perfection. He has scored at a very good pace,currently batting on 65 off 69 deliveries.

08.15 (IST): Benefit of doubt! Ravindra Jadeja beats Ross Taylor's bat and Dhoni dislodges the bails in a jiffy. Replays show that Taylor's toe was in the air for a bit but it seemed like he had just grounded it when the bails were disturbed. He survives. NZ 138/2 in 27 overs.

08.08 (IST): Ashwin comes back into the attack now. He has a leg-slip in place as he continues from round the wicket.

08.05 (IST): It has been a fluent knock from Williamson today. He came in when Ryder had been dismissed and Guptill was struggling to put bat to ball. His 50 came off 52 balls.

08.00 (IST): Kane Williamson gets his fifty! His second in as many games and eighth overall. New Zealand will need him to play a big part in their fortunes today.

07.57 (IST): Its down to Williamson and Ross Taylor, the new man in, to steer New Zealand to safety again.

 

07.55 (IST): Suresh Raina gives India the breakthrough! It is Dhoni's seventh option that breaks the vital stand as Guptill falls for 42, as the top-edge went straight to Bhuvneshwar at short fine leg. NZ 114/2 in 20.5 overs. Guptill is gone for 44.

07.51 (IST): New Zealand reach 107/1 in 20 overs. Williamson and Guptill have added 82 runs for the second wicket already. Dhoni has bowled as many as seven bowlers already ---Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, Suresh Raina, Virat Kohli and Ravichandran Ashwin.

07.49 (IST): More part-time bowling as Suresh Raina is now into the attack. He concedes just four singles. NZ 105/1 in 19 overs.

07.47 (IST): 100 up for New Zealand! It has come off 17.5 overs. The run rate is just above five runs an over but a good partnership is starting to build between Williamson and Guptill.

07.44 (IST): And the players are back on! It was indeed a passing cloud. Ravichandran Ashwin starts round the wicket to Williamson. NZ 98/1 in 17 overs.

07.38 (IST): The good news is that it's not heavy enough to stall play for too long. Or at least that's how it seems. Passing cloud? Maybe. For the moment, the players have returned to their respective dressing rooms and the covers on.

 

07.33 (IST): A flat-batted pull from Guptill! A poor, short delivery from Kohli and it gets the treatment it deserves. Guptill gets another boundary. After initial hiccups, he has looked positive. With that four, he reached 40 off 52 balls.

07.30 (IST): Virat Kohli comes into the attack. He starts well until the final ball Williamson scores a boundary to take six runs from the over. NZ 85/1 in 15 overs.

07.28 (IST): Williamson gets two back-to-back fours to take nine runs from the over. NZ 79/1 in 14 overs.

 

07.18 (IST): Dhoni introduces spin for the first time. Ravindra Jadeja comes on and he starts off round the wicket.

 

07.12 (IST): New Zealand reach 54/1 in 10 overs. Ryder started with a boundary and was looking in the ever-murderous mood that he always in on the field of cricket but perished while attempting one shot too many. In-form Kane Williamson walked out and looking good straight away. Guptill struggled early on, but got a move on with a couple of fours. Crucial for the hosts to keep going and improving their scoring rate constantly.

07.10 (IST): Dhoni continues with Bhuvneshwar from the other end.

07.07 (IST): Ishant Sharma concedes six runs off his first over. NZ 53/1 in 9 overs.

07.04 (IST): Ishant Sharma comes into the attack.He has a short fine leg in place and starts with a ball that strays down the leg side. An inside edge off Guptill's bat runs down to the fine leg boundary. 50 comes up for New Zealand. 51/1 in 8.1 overs.

06.58 (IST): Guptill gets a move on! He has struggled to make contact and was on 5 off 22 deliveries before getting two back-to-back fours off Bhuvneshwar -- first through point off the backfoot followed by one through extra cover. NZ 39/1 in 7 overs.

06.54 (IST): Kane Williamson walks out to bat.

06.52 (IST): OUT! Ryder falls cheaply again! After having taken the aerial route off the previous ball, he attempts another shot, this time an upper cut but an under-edge goes straight to MS Dhoni's hands behind the stumps. Ryder falls for 20. NZ 25/1 in 5.2 overs.

06.47 (IST): Aerial route! Ryder lofts a delivery from Shami over the deep midwicket region.The ball falls just short of the rope and helps it to the boundary.

06.43 (IST): Shami offers some width on the off-side and Ryder accepts gladly to collect 10 runs from the first three balls. Shami needs to bowl a lot closer to the stumps on the off-side in order to Ryder's resolve and his negligible footwork. NZ 18/0 in 3.3 overs.

06.40 (IST): Squared up! A lovely delivery from Bhuvneshwar, squaring up Guptill and beating his outside edge. Overcast conditions will assist the bowlers early on here. It's going to be a tough initial period for the Kiwis. If they can brave that storm, another 300-plus score could be in the offing. NZ  8/0 in 3 overs.

06.36 (IST): Shami ends his first over by beating Ryder outside the off-stump. The big Kiwi batsman needs to move his feet while playing on the off-side. It was the same problem that led to his wicket in the first ODI. Just 1 run from the over, NZ 8/0 in 2 overs.

06.35 (IST): Shami is straightaway on target. His attempt to aim at the top of off-stump helps him keep the perfect off-stump line. Guptill will be tested here.

06.31 (IST): A hint of swing for Bhuvneshwar. We saw it swing much more in Napier. It looks like a slower wicket than Napier. Jesse Ryder faces the last ball of the over and smashed a delivery outside the off-stump to the fence. NZ 7/0 in 1 over.

06.29 (IST): As expected, Dhoni has held on to his side. Martin Guptill and Jesse Ryder are out in the middle. Bhuvneshwar Kumar has the ball.

06.16 (IST): New Zealand: Jesse Ryder, Martin Guptill, Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor, Brendon McCullum, Corey Anderson, Luke Ronchi, Nathan McCullum, Kyle Mills, Mitchell McClenaghan, Tim Southee

06.14 (IST): India: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma

06.07 (IST): New Zealand have made one change: Adam Milne, who clocked 150 kmph with ease, has made way for Kyle Mills. Towards the end of the first ODI, Milne had to unfortunately walk off the field with a side strain. That turned out to be serious enough to rule him out of the series.

06:04 (IST): MS Dhoni has won the toss again and has opted for the same option as before: Fielding. Despite the loss in the first ODI, India have gone in with an unchanged side.

 

Match Preview

Handed a shock defeat in the opening match, world number one India would look to plug their batting loopholes when they square off against a gutsy New Zealand in the second cricket one-dayer in Hamilton.

Chasing a formidable 293 in the opening game in Napier, India seemed on track for a comfortable win before a middle-order collapse handed them a 24-run loss against the world number 8 home team.

What lay exposed was India's over-reliance on a certain Virat Kohli, left standing tall among ruins with a sparkling hundred. Suresh Raina's form has been a big concern, while the two openers Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma have not given India the flourishing start expected of them.

Also, India's bowling will have to be a lot sharper in the coming matches given that the home batsmen negotiated the visiting attack without much difficulty in the series-opener.

With pacer Ishant Sharma and off-spinner R Ashwin not making much of an impression in overseas conditions, it remains to be seen whether the team management will consider making changes to the bowling line-up.

At Seddon Park on Wednesday, the visitors would be hoping for an encore from Kohli and better contributions from others in the line-up.

It is no secret that the team's fortunes are heavily dependent on Kohli's bat. His hundred the other day was his 18th overall in just 126 matches, with another 28 fifties to boot.

It is important to note that out of the 46 times he has scored a half-century or more, India finished victorious in 32 matches. (Read more)

'Kiwis expecting an India backlash'

New Zealand have started off well by winning the opening ODI but their star batsman Ross Taylor feels India have a good chance to bounce back in the second game here on Wednesday as conditions are more likely to favour the visitors.

The Black Caps won by 24 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series, but Taylor believes it will only get tougher from here.

"It was a great start for us, a great all-round team performance on Sunday. We all performed our roles exceptionally well and carried our form from the West Indies series, especially the T20s," said Taylor. (Read more)

Will rattle Team India again: Mitchell McClenaghan

New Zealand pacer Mitchell McClenaghan said his team will look to play aggressive cricket in the ongoing ODI series against India to send a message to the other powerful nations.

"These guys are good players but at no point are we going to back away from a fight," said McClenaghan, who had a slight verbal confrontation with Indian opener Rohit Sharma in the opening one-dayer in Napier which the Kiwis won by 24 runs.

"We're not going to be nice to them, we're going to get in their face and let them know that we're here and we're going to put our mark on the buildup to the World Cup." (Read more)

Virat Kohli urges Team India batsmen to show more responsibility

He stood tall with a sparkling hundred before India self-destructed in the opening match against New Zealand and vice-captain Virat Kohli on Tuesday, said his fellow batsmen will have to produce a more "responsible" performance for the side to stage a comeback here on Wednesday.

The number three batsman hit his 18th ODI hundred in the first match of the series at Napier on Sunday. However, it wasn't good enough to win the match for India as the visitors lost by 24 runs, surrendering a 1-0 lead.

"It would have been better if we had won but it has been a positive start for us and I am sure that going forward in this series, we will bat more responsibly and get into good positions," Kohli said. (Read more)