New Zealand bounced back in style as they beat India by seven wickets in the second match of the series to level the series 1-1. New Zealand won the toss and opted to bowl first at Rajkot. India made a good start with Rohit and Gill getting through the initial overs but soon Rohit Sharma lost his wicket and the floodgates opened. Shubman Gill scored a half century but lost his wicket and along with that, India crumbled as they lost Kohli and Shreyas quickly.
KL Rahul joined Ravindra Jadeja and they stitched a crucial partnership. KL Rahul scored a magnificent century against New Zealand at Rajkot. He brought up his century in 87 balls which included seven fours and a six. It was an innings of high quality as he had to walk in when India were in trouble having lost four wickets within the first 25 overs. This was his 8th ODI century and he held the innings beautifully. He helped India post a total of 284 in the first innings. During the knock he built crucial partnerships with Ravindra Jadeja and Nitish Reddy. Despite losing partners in the end he managed to score boundaries in the death overs. KL Rahul also became the first player to score a century at Rajkot.
It looked a good score at the halfway point and India started really well with the ball as New Zealand lost the openers cheaply. India were on top at that point with the required run rate climbing up as well. But Will Young joined Daryl Mitchell as they took on bowlers and made a huge partnership together. Daryl Mitchell was in sublime touch once again as he scored a terrific century but Will Young lost his wicket for 87 but New Zealand were firmly on top.
Phillips joined Mitchell and saw New Zealand cruise the chase. During this knock, Mitchell also became the fourth fastest in the world to reach the milestone of 2500 runs as he did it in just 58 innings. He has scored more than half century in five of his last six innings. New Zealand chased down the target within 48 overs and Mitchell was unbeaten on 131* and was named the player of the match. The series is levelled at 1-1 with the series decider set to be played on Sunday at Indore.
