After an emphatic series win against Australia, the Indian side led by Virat Kohli will be hoping to continue their golden run in white-ball cricket in the upcoming series against New Zealand too. After losing the first ODI of the series against the Aussies, the Men in Blue bounced back to emerge victorious in the last games and clinch the series 2-1.
Former Indian cricketer VVS Laxman believes that the series win will help India in maintaining its momentum in the series against the Black Caps. Talking about the recently concluded series, Laxman said that India played like true “champions” and ended the series on a high by winning two consecutive games.
The winning games will give the team the much-needed “confidence” before embarking on a journey to New Zealand. There will be new difficulties and challenges waiting for them and he is confident that the Indian team will overcome them.
“The turnaround time is very little, the time zone is different, and so will the conditions be, but there is nothing to suggest that this Indian team cannot handle those challenges with aplomb,” Laxman said.
The former middle-order batsman also praised pacers Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Shami for their brilliant bowling skills. They both have been quite essential for the team’s success in recent times and will play a vital role in India’s success in New Zealand.
“Jasprit Bumrah’s value in the team can never be exaggerated. The pressure he builds and sustains against the best batsmen in the opposition is noteworthy. Mohammad Shami had his game plan in place, come up with a beauty to dismiss David Warner,” added VVS Laxman.
Laxman also praised Australia’s former skipper Steve Smith for his amazing performances in the last two games of the series and noted that Marnus Labuschagne is the future of Australian cricket. But later added that the Kangaroos rely heavily on the top 3 and if they don’t strike, the team can be in sorts of troubles.
Smith scored a brilliant 98 in the second game at Rajkot while played an amazing knock of 131 in the final game to take Australian to a modest total of 286. On the other hand, Labuschagne, who was playing his debut ODI series for Australia, also gave some handy performance in the middle order.
India’s tour of New Zealand starts from January 24 with a 5-match T20 International series, followed by a 3-match ODI series. The tour will end with two Test matches.
