India continued its winning run in one-day internationals on Saturday as they crushed New Zealand by 8 wickets in the second ODI in Raipur to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
Chasing a below-par 109 for victory, India completed the job in just 20.1 overs thanks to Rohit Sharma's 50-ball 51 and Shubman Gill's unbeaten 40.
"It was a good opportunity for me to stay unbeaten in the middle. There was a little in it for the fast bowlers in the second innings, thought there would be more when we saw them bat, but there wasn't a lot when we batted). But it was turning and gripping for the spinners.
"It's always a dream to bat with Rohit bhai, have learnt a lot batting along with him. Me and Ishan Kishan) are best mates, we spend a lot of time off-field together, it was great to spend some time batting together," Gill said after the match.
Mohd Shami Stars with the ball
The match however, was set up completely by the Indian pacers who grabbed 7 wickets between themselves to help bundle out New Zealand for just 108 in 34.3 overs.
Mohammed Shami was the wreaker-in-chief with 3 for 18 from 6 overs followed by Hardik Pandya (2/16) and Washington Sundar (2/7).
The Kiwi batting department flopped miserably with only Glenn Phillips (36), Michael Bracewell (22) and Mitchell Santner (27) scoring in double figures.
With this, India have now registered 7 successive ODI series wins against New Zealand on home soil. They are yet to lose a series against the Kiwis since the two teams started competing in India since 1988.
India are also unbeaten in ODIs this year with five wins out of five so far. The Men in Blue had swept the series against Sri Lanka 3-0 before registering back-to-back wins against the Kiwis.
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