Ujjain: Indian captain Virat Kohli and left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav paid their obeisance on the second day, Saturday, at the Sacred Shree Mahakaleshwar Temple in Ujjain, before the third and final One-Day International between the Indians and the New Zealanders. On January 18, the series decider will be held at the Holkar Cricket Stadium.
The visit is accompanied by the three matches of ODIs, which are at a fine draw at 1-1. India was denied a chance to secure an unassailable lead, and New Zealand, under the leadership of Michael Bracewell, levelled the series with a comprehensive seven-wicket win in the 2 nd ODI at Rajkot.
Kuldeep Yadav said the visit was a spiritually satisfying one after praying. He explained that it had been a few years since his last darshan at the temple, and it was a good visit, giving him a feeling of tranquillity and optimism before a major match. Kuldeep was optimistic that the team would go on to perform well in the future with the blessings of God.
India had gone into the second ODI having won the first match in the series by a nail-biting four-wicket victory at Vadodara. But New Zealand gave the hosts a hard time keeping them in check in Rajkot, rewarding the valiant unbeaten century by KL Rahul. The Indian wicketkeeper-batter registered 112 not out; however, New Zealand’s Daryl Mitchell scooped the muffins with a powerful unbeatable 131 at the helm of the visitors to a very comfortable victory.
Kohli, however, has also stayed on the spot with his defeat of Rohit Sharma to become the best ICC ODI batting player this week. Even though his first performance back in the number one position earned him a small 23 out of 29 balls, he made a big personal breakthrough as he became the number one run-scorer against New Zealand when it comes to ODI cricket.
Kohli has scored 1,773 runs out of 35 ODIs against the Kiwis with an average of 55.4, with six centuries and ten half-centuries at the highest score of 154. He beat the legendary Sachin Tendulkar, who totalled 1,750 runs in 42 matches against the New Zealand team.
India will now seek revenge by ensuring they perform well in the decider of the series in order to seal the battle.
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