Wellington, Nov 7 (IANS) India captain Shubman Gill heaped praise on rising fast bowler Gurnoor Brar for a stellar display in the second ODI against New Zealand at Henry Farm Stadium on Saturday.
Gurnoor, who is Gill’s middle-overs aggressor with the ball, starred during the same phase and took 4-30 in his 10 overs. On bouncy Wellington pitches, the seamer made the most of his pace and height to keep India on top and help the team bowl the Kiwis out for just 134.
Due to another rain interruption, India won the match by four runs (DLS method) after being at 113/7 after 26 overs, as Gurnoor was adjudged Player of the Match.
Speaking at the post-match presentation ceremony, the Indian skipper heaped praise on the bowler. “Gurnoor, even in the last match as well, has been bowling really well. Hopefully, as he plays more games and gets more experience, he’ll become more consistent with his line and length. He’s got the pace, he’s got the bounce. It’s all about how consistent he can be, and we saw today the kind of quality he brings if he can keep bowling like this,” Gill said after the win.
India have a relatively inexperienced bowling attack in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj, and they have been trying to find the next protagonists in the department with the ODI World Cup 2027 in the mind.
Gill opened up on the message that has been passed to the young bowlers like Auqib Nabi, Gurnoor and Anshul Kamboj, who are all shouldering the pace department along with Arshdeep Singh in the series.
“Most of them have all the qualities that are needed. It’s all about performing under pressure. International cricket is all about performing under pressure and getting that experience, bowling day in, day out and trying to deliver under pressure. That’s the key point for us,” Gill added.
India managed to beat New Zealand by a small margin in the end on what was a challenging surface for the batters and are now 2-0 up in the five-match series. The hosts lost seven wickets for 113 and were under a bit of pressure when 22 were needed with the only recognised batter, KL Rahul, out there. They would have fancied themselves to win the match even if the rain did not arrive, but managed to sneak through by four runs (DLS method) when the heavens opened up.
“Yeah, the pitch was definitely challenging. But I think we lost two extra wickets than we would have liked in the end. We knew the rain might come in at the end. And the last two shots that we played … didn’t look good. If we had lost this match by DLS, four or five runs, it would have definitely been a stinker for us. But happy to get over the line,” Gill added.
–IANS
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