New Zealand vs India: New Zealand Assistant Coach Takes The Field Against India In 2nd ODI. Here's Why
The New Zealand squad ran thin for the second ODI, with several players suffering from illness.
Highlights
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Tim Southee had to leave the field after bowling his 10 overs
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He played the match despite illness as New Zealand had players missing
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With no fit player available, assistant coach Luke Ronchi replaced him
New Zealand assistant coach Luke Ronchi came out to field against India in the second ODI at Eden Park in Auckland on Saturday with no player in the squad fit enough to replace Tim Southee in the outfield. Southee was reportedly ill but chose to play the match with the likes of Scott Kuggeleijn and Mitchell Santner reportedly unavailable with flu and a stomach bug respectively. Due to his illness, Southee ran through his 10 overs pretty early and went off the pitch and a few overs later, with no player there to replace him, Ronchi came on to field.
The 38-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman last represented New Zealand in 2017 and is their assistant coach now.
Southee, despite his illness, put in a valiant effort for the hosts. With New Zealand defending their total of 273, Southee took two wickets, including the prized scalp of Virat Kohli, for 41 runs. Southee, after finishing his quota of overs, walked off the pitch to pats on the back from all his teammates.
New Zealand beat India by 22 runs in the second ODI to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
The hosts were put in to bat and got off to a good start thanks to Martin Guptill's half-century before India came back with a flurry of wickets. But the experienced Ross Taylor, who shepherded the home side's chase with a fantastic century in the first ODI, helped New Zealand to a strong finish with some help from debutant Kyle Jamieson.
New Zealand got off to a flyer with the ball with quick wickets of openers Mayank Agarwal and Prithvi Shaw, before Southee castled Kohli. KL Rahul and Kedar Jadhav were soon to fall as well.
Shreyas Iyer scored his seventh ODI half-century before being dismissed by Hamish Bennett.
Ravindra Jadeja then scored a fighting half-century, putting on a couple of good partnerships with Shardul Thakur and Navdeep Saini but New Zealand eventually came out on top to win the series.
India Cricket Team
New Zealand Cricket Team
Luke Ronchi
Tim Southee