‘Known for their strategy’: Ajinkya Rahane gives his take on New Zealand’s performance after ODI series win

The Indian team succumbed to a hefty loss against New Zealand in the ODI leg of the ongoing multi-format series between the two teams. The two teams faced off across three ODI matches, and after winning the first ODI, team India lost the second and third games of the series. 

New Zealand performed exceptionally well in the series, with Daryl Mitchell putting in brilliant performances, scoring two centuries in the second and third ODIs of the series, and helping the Black Caps defeat team India on their home turf. 

Speaking on the same, veteran India batter Ajinkya Rahane took centre stage and talked about the showing that New Zealand put in throughout the series. 

“If you look at yesterday’s match specifically, yes they fielded well throughout the series, but in that match alone they saved around 15 to 20 runs. Glenn Phillips and the other fielders collectively saved those runs, and I felt that created pressure. That pressure eventually came onto the Indian team. When you field well as a team and as a unit, it puts pressure on the batting side,” rahane said in a video on his YouTube channel. 

“So full credit goes to the New Zealand team and their management. New Zealand always comes with good planning and thorough preparation. They are known for their strategy and planning, and most importantly, they like to keep things very simple. That is very important. I felt that New Zealand, in many ways, dominated the Indian team throughout this series.” he added.

India to take on New Zealand across five T20Is next

With the conclusion of the three ODIs, India and New Zealand will now take on each other across five T20I matches. The 1st T20I of the series will be held at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, Jamtha, Nagpur, on January 21. It is worth noting that with the T20 World Cup rapidly approaching, the five-game T20I series could prove to be good practice for team India. 

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