New Zealand post 273 for 8 against India in second ODI
Auckland: Martin Guptill and Ross Taylor smashed half-centuries to power New Zealand to a competitive 273 for eight in the second ODI of the three-match series at Eden Park here on Saturday.
Put in to bat, Guptill scored a run-a-ball 79 and along with his opening partner Herny Nicholls (41) shared a 93-run partnership but the hosts suffered a collapse, losing five wickets for 26 runs to slip to 197 for 8 at one stage.
Yuzvendra Chahal (3/58) claimed three wickets, Shardul Thakur (2/60) took two wickets, while Ravindra Jadeja (1/35) snapped one and effected a run-out to put the hosts in a spot of bother in the middle but Ross Taylor's brilliance saw them post a good score.
Taylor, who had scored a century in the first ODI, played a unbeaten knock of 73 off 74 balls and added 76 runs with debutant Kyle Jamieson (25 not out) to take New Zealand across the 250-mark.
Earlier, India made two changes, bringing in Navdeep Saini and Yuzvendra Chahal in place of Mohammed Shami and Kuldeep Yadav.
New Zealand, on the other hand, handed ODI debut to Kyle Jamieson, the country's tallest bowler standing at six feet, eight inches. He replaced spinner Ish Sodhi, while Mark Chapman came in for Mitchell Santner in the playing XI.
New Zealand are leading the series 1-0 lead after claiming a four-wicket win in the first ODI.
Brief Score:
New Zealand: 273 for 8 in 50 overs (Martin Guptill 79, Ross Taylor 73; Yuzvendra Chahal 3/58).
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Misuse of power, money to control election mechanism seen during Maharashtra polls: Sharad Pawar
Pune (PTI): NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday claimed the misuse of power and money to control the entire election mechanism, which was never before seen in any state assembly or national polls, was witnessed in Maharashtra.
Pawar made the statement when he visited senior activist Dr Baba Adhav, who is protesting against the alleged "misuse of EVMs" in the recent state polls in Maharashtra.
Adhav, who is in his 90s, began his three-day protest at Phule Wada, the residence of social reformer Jyotiba Phule, in the city on Thursday.
The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) allies, the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP), have been alleging manipulation of EVMs in the recently held Maharashtra Assembly elections, which saw a landslide victory by the Mahayuti.
The Mahayuti, comprising the Shiv Sena, BJP and NCP, won 230 out of 288 assembly seats in the November 20 polls, while the MVA managed just 46 seats.Talking to reporters, Pawar said elections were conducted recently in the country, and there is a restlessness among the people about these.
Baba Adhav's agitation represents this restlessness, he said.
He said, "There is a murmur among the people that the recent polls in Maharashtra saw 'misuse of power' and 'floods of money', which was never seen in the past. Such things are heard of in local-level polls, but taking over the entire election mechanism with the help of money and misuse of power was not seen before. However, we witnessed it in Maharashtra, and people are restless now."
He added that people were recalling late socialist ideologue Jaiprakash Narayan and felt somebody should take a step forward.
"I heard Baba Adhav has taken a lead into this issue and is agitating at Phule Wada. His protest gives hope to the people, but it is not enough. A mass revolt is necessary, as the danger of the parliamentary democracy getting destroyed looms," Pawar said.
The former Union minister said those who have reins of the country in their hands are least bothered about this.
"Despite widespread discussion over it (alleged misuse of EVMs) in the country, whenever the opposition tries to raise the issue in the Parliament, they are not allowed to speak. Opposition leaders have been seeking an opportunity to speak on these issues for six days, but their demands have not been accepted even once. It shows they want to attack parliamentary democracy," he claimed.
He said Dr Adhav's protest is a fine example of someone revolting against the issue and expressed confidence that his protest will create a ripple effect.
