Gill backs Gurnoor Brar to become more consistent with experience after match-winning 4-fer against New Zealand

Wellington [New Zealand], November 7 (ANI): India captain Shubman Gill backed young pacer Gurnoor Brar to become more consistent with experience after his impressive four-wicket haul powered India to a four-run DLS victory over New Zealand in the rain-curtailed second ODI on Saturday at the Hnry Stadium in Wellington.

Brar delivered a career-best performance of 4/30 as India secured a four-run DLS victory to take a 2-0 lead in the five-match series. Opting to bowl first, India bundled out New Zealand for 134 in 41 overs, with Brar dismissing captain Mitchell Santner before removing Tom Latham and Glenn Phillips in quick succession, while Auqib Nabi and Anshul Kamboj provided the early breakthroughs. He also accounted for Nathan Smith to complete his four-wicket haul.

Brar also claimed three wickets for 44 runs in 9.2 overs in the series opener.

Praising Brar’s pace and ability to extract bounce, Gill said the young pacer had also bowled well in the previous match and would continue to improve with more exposure to international cricket.

“In the last match, Gurnoor bowled really well too. As he gets more experience, he’ll get more consistent. He already has the pace and bounce. Most of the seamers have all the qualities. International cricket is about performing under pressure,” Gill said in the post-match presentation.

While India managed to get the Kiwis all-out for 135, their chase proved challenging as the visitors lost seven wickets before rain interrupted play. India were four runs ahead of the DLS par score at 113/7 when the match was stopped.

However, Gill said he was happy with the victory despite India finding the chase challenging, admitting that the team lost two more wickets than it would have liked on a difficult pitch.

“…as long as we get the win. It wasn’t easy batting. Getting them out at 134, I thought it’ll be an easy target, but it wasn’t. Happy we got there in the end. [2-0 up now] The pitch was challenging but we lost two extra wickets than we’d have liked in the end,” he said.

Chasing 135, India suffered early setbacks, losing Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Axar Patel at 47/4. Shreyas Iyer (30) and KL Rahul (26 not out) attempted to revive the innings, but Jacob Duffy and Kyle Jamieson claimed three wickets each. India were 113/7 when rain interrupted play, four runs ahead of the DLS par score. The victory gave India a 2-0 lead in the five-match series. (ANI)