Nick Kelly Hopes Rohit Sharma & Virat Kohli Fail in 2nd ODI Clash

New Zealand batter Nick Kelly expressed hope that Indian stars Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma do not score heavily in the second ODI. India took a 1-0 series lead with a tense four-wicket victory in the first match, sealed by KL Rahul's composed finish. Kelly acknowledged the excitement of facing world-class players but emphasized his team's desire to level the series. Both squads are set for another closely contested encounter in Rajkot.

Key Points: Nick Kelly on Kohli, Rohit: "Hopefully they don't score"

  • NZ's Nick Kelly hopes to stop Kohli & Rohit
  • India leads series 1-0 after close win
  • KL Rahul's calm finish sealed 1st ODI chase
  • Teams gear up for crucial 2nd match in Rajkot
2 min read

"Hopefully Rohit and Kohli don't score": Nick Kelly ahead of second ODI

New Zealand's Nick Kelly hopes to contain Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in the 2nd ODI after India's thrilling 4-wicket win in the series opener.

"Hopefully they don't score too many runs - Nick Kelly"

Rajkot, January 13

New Zealand batter Nick Kelly hopes that Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma don't score runs during the second ODI at the Niranjan Shah Stadium on Wednesday.

India defeated New Zealand by four wickets in the first ODI in Vadodara on Sunday and took a 1-0 lead in the ongoing three-match series. The Men in Blue lost momentum after Kohli was dismissed for 93, but KL Rahul's calm and composed 29 not out off 21 balls sealed the victory for India in the second last over.

India pulled off a thrilling chase, reaching 301 in the second last over of the innings, with Rahul and Washington Sundar putting up a decent partnership to seal the win by four wickets.

"Any time you get to come up against some of the world's best, it's obviously very exciting from a cricket fan's point of view. But I think the boys who are out there will be very excited. And hopefully they don't score too many runs," Kelly told reporters ahead of the second ODI.

The 32-year-old is hoping to have a cracking game after the first ODI went close, which India won by our wickets. "Yeah, obviously very exciting. The game a couple of days ago was very, very close. So it was good to get here today. And, you know, beautiful practice wicket. So hopefully another cracking game tomorrow."

"Obviously, it was a cracking game. You know, at the end there it got very, very tight. Hopefully, you know, we've had a lot of chats over the last 24 to 48 hours. So hopefully tomorrow we can go out there and get the win and make it 1-1," Kelly added.

Squads:

India Squad: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill(c), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Ravindra Jadeja, KL Rahul(w), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Arshdeep Singh, Ayush Badoni, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel.

New Zealand Squad: Devon Conway, Henry Nicholls, Will Young, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Hay(w), Michael Bracewell(c), Zakary Foulkes, Kristian Clarke, Kyle Jamieson, Adithya Ashok, Jayden Lennox, Nick Kelly, Josh Clarkson, Michael Rae.

- ANI

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Reader Comments

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Sarah B
Respectfully, I think we rely too much on Kohli and Rohit. The first ODI showed we can win even when they don't finish the job. KL Rahul and the middle order were brilliant. Need to build a team for the future, not just depend on two players.
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Vikram M
Haha, good luck with that hope, Nick Kelly! Our batting line-up is so deep now. Even if they get Rohit and Virat, we have Gill, Iyer, Rahul, Jadeja... the list goes on. New Zealand will have to bowl out of their skins.
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Priya S
It's actually nice to see such a respectful comment from an opponent. He's not being arrogant, just stating the obvious challenge. Makes for a good sporting contest. May the best team win! 🤝
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Rohit P
The real worry is our bowling in the middle overs. Siraj and Kuldeep need to step up. We can't always expect the batters to chase 300+. Hope the team works on that.
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Michael C
As a cricket fan living in India, I have to say this series is more exciting than the big-ticket ones sometimes. Both teams play positive cricket. Hope for another close game, but with an Indian win, of course! 🇮🇳

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