After being reduced to 131 for 6, New Zealand’s all-rounder Michael Bracewell broke the record with a score of 140 off just 78 balls, nearly leading his team to an improbable victory in the first ODI against India on Wednesday in Hyderabad (January 18). With just one wicket remaining, the situation came down to 20 off the final over, and Indian all-rounder Shardul Thakur was given the ball. The equation changed to 13 off 5 balls when the first ball of the over was hit for a six and the second was wide.
However, off the next ball, Thakur was brave enough to bowl a yorker and Bracewell was trapped in front as the Black Caps innings ended 12 runs short of the target. It ended India’s five-match ODI losing streak to New Zealand as well. Thakur revealed how it was former skipper Virat Kohli’s advice which helped him bag the final wicket.
After India established a 1-0 lead in the three-match series, Thakur commented on Star Sports, “Virat Kohli bhai instructed me bowl a Yorker length to get a batsman out.”
Bracewell nearly led New Zealand over the finish line with his 140 off 78 balls. He hit 12 sixes and 12 fours in one inning.
“We simply wanted to give ourselves a chance” (by building a partnership after six wickets). Sadly, we failed just at the very end. Mitchell (Santner) and I began to believe once we were able to get comfortable. At the time, we only wanted to go deep enough to give ourselves a shot. On their 162-run stand with Mitchell Santner, Bracewell observed, “We left too much to do at the end.
I don’t have a lot of footage of these bowlers because I’m just starting out in my international career, but I try to get a sense of how they bowl. After getting settled, Mitch and I didn’t talk much about winning because we wanted to dig deep and give ourselves a chance, Bracewell continued.
source from: msn.com
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