IND vs NZ 2nd ODI: India beat New Zealand by four runs

India beat New Zealand by four runs (DLS method) in the second ODI at Hnry Stadium in Wellington. It was a slow-scoring affair as the Kiwis were bundled out for just 134 runs in the first innings. It was expected to be a comfortable task for the Indian batters, but New Zealand bowlers put up a good show as well, as India felt the pressure for a while, but in the end, they were ahead per DLS, which helped India extend the lead to 2-0 in the five-match series.

Rain played spoiler in the opening hour of the day and the game was reduced to 47 overs. India once again won the toss and elected to bowl first and the conditions certainly helped them establish authority in the powerplay. Pacer Auqib Nabi capitalised with the new ball, picking up two wickets as New Zealand were reduced to 11/2 at one stage. Opener Tim Seifert departed for a duck, while his opening partner Will Young made six. 

The two early dismissals put pressure on the middle order batters and they too failed to make the most of the opportunity. Wickets fell at regular intervals as eight of their players scored in single digits. Daryl Mitchell was the only player to put up a fight, scoring a gritty 55, while captain Mitchell Santer tried to support him well, making 31. For India, Gurnoor Brar stole the show, claiming two wickets, while Axar



Patel and Anshul Kamboj also picked up two wickets each.

When it came to the chase, India lost Shubman Gill in the second over itself. The captain departed for a golden duck and soon, Virat Kohli followed suit. The veteran made seven runs, but it was enough for him to become the leading run-scorer against New Zealand in ODI cricket. He surpassed Ricky Ponting for the record.

Rohit Sharma, in the meantime, looked comfortable in the middle for a while, but Kyle Jamieson eventually got the better of him for 23 runs. Axar Patel departed for a cheap score too as Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul were put under severe pressure. The visitors were reduced to 47/4 at one stage and from that stage, Shreyas managed to keep the scoreboard ticking.

He eventually gone for 30 runs but helped India rebuild themselves after the early collapse. From that position, India should have found it easy, but that wasn’t the case. Jacob Duffy picked up the prized wicket of Naman Dhir and that put India once again under pressure. Soon after that, Anshul Kamboj gifted his wicket and that gave New Zealand plenty of confidence.

Just when things were ticking for New Zealand, the rain was back and the match couldn’t continue. With that, India secured the win by just being four runs ahead on DLS.