Shubman Gill Points to Middle-Overs Bowling After India’s Rajkot Defeat

India captain Shubman Gill admitted that the inability to take wickets in the middle overs proved costly in India’s defeat against New Zealand in the second ODI.

Shubman Gill pointed to ineffective middle-overs bowling after India’s seven-wicket defeat to New Zealand in the second ODI at Rajkot. He said India failed to apply pressure once fielding restrictions eased. India posted 284 for 7, with KL Rahul scoring 112 not out from 92 balls, his eighth ODI hundred.

New Zealand chased the target comfortably. Daryl Mitchell led the chase with an unbeaten 131. He added 162 runs for the third wicket with Will Young, who made 87 from 152 deliveries.

Gill stressed that wickets during the middle phase decide matches on such pitches. He added that partnerships allow set batters to dominate, while new batters struggle initially.

“We couldn’t pick up any wickets in the middle overs. With five fielders in, if you don’t keep taking wickets in the middle overs, it becomes very difficult, even if we had added 15-20 more runs. And if you don’t pick up wickets in the middle overs, it’s very difficult to stop a target,” Gill said during the post-match presentation.

“On these kinds of wickets, as soon as you have a partnership, the set batsman has to make it big because it’s not easy for the batsman coming in to score freely,” he added.

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Gill also felt India bowled with discipline in the first 10 overs and applied early pressure. However, New Zealand countered effectively once the ball softened. He noted that conditions eased after 20 to 25 overs, which reduced bowling impact.

Fielding Errors Add to India’s Problems

Shubman Gill further added fielding lapses as a decisive factor. Missed chances, he said, repeatedly hurt the team in the ODI format.

“In the end, we did get a decent target on the board, and we bowled exceptionally well in the first 10 overs. We tried to squeeze them down and put them under pressure, but they batted really well in the middle overs,” he said.

“In the first 10-15 overs, the ball was doing a little bit. But after 20-25 overs, the wicket settled in a bit. I think we could have been a little braver and taken more chances while bowling in the middle overs,” the skipper concluded.