India vs New Zealand | Our only plan was to play full 50 overs, reveals Ambati Rayudu

Coming out to bat at his regular position of No. 4, Rayudu played a sensible knock of 90 runs off 113 balls to bail out the visitors. When he stepped on to the pitch the Men in Blue had already lost both the openers. Even after losing Shubman Gill and MS Dhoni’s wickets inside the first powerplay, India managed to get a score of 252. Rayudu stitched together a 98-run partnership with Vijay Shankar (45) and a 74-run stand with Kedar Jadhav in the middle overs.

After the match-winning performance with the bat, the Hyderabad batsman has revealed that the aim was to see through the middle overs and play out all the 300 deliveries in the innings. 

“It was very tough against a quality bowling attack. Was thinking we should take the game to 30th over without losing another wicket. Our only plan was to play the full fifty overs. Especially for people batting at four, five and six, you get opportunities only when the situation is tough. Don't think setting totals has ever been an issue. That was a one-off game in Hamilton. Might face similar challenges in future. Great effort by our bowlers,” Rayudu explained during the presentation.

Chasing a tricky total of 253 looked tough for the Kiwis as they kept on losing wickets at regular intervals. The home side was bowled out for only 217 handing over a 35-run win for the Indians. The Men in Blue, as a result, won their second consecutive bilateral series away from home by a margin of 4-1.