On this day in 2014: India and New Zealand play out a thrilling tie

The Indian team has scripted a lot of memorable wins on their soil as well as on foreign soils. In every match they play, they tend to break some new records and build a benchmark for players to achieve in the coming times. Often, the fans have seen cricketers playing much above their stature in dire times. One such incident happened in 2014 when India went to tour New Zealand and played a thriller to tie a tough game.

The 3rd of the 5-match ODI series took place in Auckland, where visitors won the toss and invited the opposition to bat first. While batting first, Kiwis got off to a great start as their opener Martin Guptill started wreaking havoc on Indian bowlers. He was in great touch and was further assisted by Kane Williamson. Guptill smashed a scintillating century (111 off 129 balls), and Williamson added 65 runs from his bat to push their team towards a great scoreline.

The classy duo stitched a sturdy partnership of 153 runs to give some tough times to Indian bowlers. Their belligerence carried the score to 314 runs while Ravindra Jadeja and Mohammed Shami picked two wickets each to help their side. India had a poor start in reply. MS Dhoni played a gritty knock of 50 runs. When India were struggling towards the end, ace all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and spinner Ravi Ashwin rose to the occasion.

#OnThisDay in 2014, a story of how India came back from the dead, a story of a great Indian fightback. Chasing 315 to stay alive in the series, the famed top 3 dismissed in quick succession, MS Dhoni, R Ashwin and R Jadeja came to India’s rescue, to tie the game after being 5/146 pic.twitter.com/VWgRwXk1c9

— North Stand Gang – Wankhede (@NorthStandGang) January 25, 2020

The adamant pair of Ashwin and Jadeja added 65 off 46 and 66 of 45 runs, respectively from their ends to bring a ray of hope for the Indian team. When the match looked out of control and another loss was on the cards, Ashwin and Jadeja’s valiant knock resulted in a tie, and New Zealand remained 2-0 up in the series. Corey Anderson bagged a five-wicket haul and kept the match alive all the while.

Ravindra Jadeja was declared as the player of the match for his stunning knock and picking two wickets for his team. Their spectacular effort made sure that India was alive in the high profile series. India had to bear the brunt of poor judgments, and 131 runs in the last 15 overs looked like a dream before Ashwin and Jadeja took the responsibilities like a hero. On the night, where the match could have turned any side, and most likely towards the hosts, a thrilling performance towards the end gave fans amazing times and an amazing action to witness.