India's top and middle-order failed to deliver with the bat again during the ODI in Auckland on Saturday.
New Zealand cruised to a series-clinching 22-run win over Team India in the second ODI match at the Eden Park in Auckland on Saturday (February 8).
After the loss, Indian skipper Virat Kohli expressed his thoughts on the match and claimed that he was impressed with how the match ended on the day.
“Two good games, and it's great for the fans. I'm impressed with how we finished."
"We let things slip away from 197-8 to 270+ in the first half but came back strongly with the second half of our batting. We were in trouble with the bat, but Saini and Jadeja played really well, as did Shreyas,” Kohli said at the post-match trophy ceremony.
Virat then went on to add how he was pleased to see India's lower-order put a shift in with the bat and score when the team needed them to do so.
India's top and middle-order failed to deliver with the bat again during the Auckland ODI. Ravindra Jadeja (55 off 73 balls) along with Navdeep Saini (45 off 49 balls) knitted together a 76-run partnership ended in vain as India were all-out for 251.
“It's upto the individuals to fight till the end. We didn't send them any messages, because those aren't what your instincts are telling you to do," the Indian skipper said.
"We didn't know how good Saini could be with the bat, so if the lower-order could be that good, then it inspires the middle-order and the top-order to step it up too,” he added.
With this win, the BlackCaps have taken an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series but Kohli is not too worried about it and claimed that the ODIs aren't too relevant this year when compared to T20I and Test cricket.
“ODIs aren't too relevant this year compared to Tests and T20s, but to find people who can play that way under pressure is a big revelation for us and a big plus."
"We could consider changes in the final game, since we have nothing to lose now. We'll play expressive cricket and not worry too much about the result,” he further added.
With the series already in the bag, New Zealand is set to take on India in the third and final ODI match at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui on February 11.
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