Corey Anderson may not be able to appreciate this aspect right now, despite a golden run; but come February 12, when this part of the world might be fast asleep, he will understand the gravity of the last few days.
Till January 1, he didn't even exist for most Indians; he burst into their consciousness, or at least into the calculations of IPL's talent-spotters, by a knock that comes very close to a blitzkrieg: an unbeaten 131 against West Indies that saw him break the fastest century record (36 balls).
He couldn't have smashed it at a more opportune time, with the Indian team slated to arrive in two weeks; as if that was not enough, he almost equalled the fastest-50 record too on Wednesday: he dashed to 44 in 16 deliveries and another 6 would have seen him on par with Sanath Jayasuriya's 17-ball foray.
The near-miss was, however, good enough to give New Zealand a comfortable 15-run victory in a rain-curtailed second One-dayer here on Wednesday. He arrived just after a long weather break, with the Black Caps ominously poised at 170 for 2 in 33.2 overs; suddenly, they had only 8.4 overs left to put the target beyond
India.
Anderson blasted two 4s and five 6s, almost all of them big hits down the wicket, to catapult NZ to 271 for 7 in 42 overs; however, thanks to Duckworth and Lewis, India were left chasing an imposing 292 runs, and they could only manage 277 which meant they are no longer the World No. 1.
The Seddon Park is small, the pitch slow and the outfield lightning quick, but the target was always going to be beyond reach. Openers Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma showed intent, taking their time to settle down; yet, it wasn't good enough to give India the launching pad they so desperately needed. Virat Kohli (78) began with a delectable flick but soon started stepping out to play his drives; he seemed imperious, almost disdainful as he whacked the bowlers around.
Ajinkya Rahane (36) was calm-personified as he worked the gaps, happy to watch from the other end. A rising delivery from Mitchell McClenaghan, however, saw him pulling early and giving a simple catch to wicketkeeper Ronchi.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni promoted himself to give the team an outside chance: but 170 were still needed in about 18 overs, with seven wickets in hand. Tough. The excitement rose in the stands as runs came thick and fast, with Kohli scaling past 50; just when the balance seemed to be tilting, he pulled a short ball straight into the hands of mid on. Buoyed by the two dismissals, the Kiwi pacers switched to attack mode.
Dhoni and Suresh Raina were peppered with short balls; they responded with their own versions of the pull shot. But Raina cut loose suddenly, making the most of a couple of lucky breaks; but just as he was beginning to middle the ball, he holed out. 35 runs off 22. India 226 for 5 and in deep trouble.
Dhoni continued the fight, even though he was not finding the boundary as frequently as he is wont to. When he was dropped on 39, and the next one too went for a streaky boundary, it seemed like the tide had turned. But just after hitting a six, and reaching his 50, he too departed.
Anderson was the lucky bowler and he accounted for Jadeja too; his three for 67 and Southee's four for 72 were good enough to stop India.
Earlier, India opted to bowl first with an eye on the dark horizon; the bowlers, however, were listless again and New Zealand cruised away, despite losing Jesse Ryder early. Martin Guptill shook off his initial hesitancy for a fluent 44; Kane Williamson (77) and Ross Taylor (57) were on song yet again, until rain intervened and Corey Anderson took over.
It was perfect timing all the way.
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