2nd ODI: Pacers power India over NZ in rain-curtailed thriller
What's the story
India's young bowling attack put on a stellar show, bowling New Zealand out for just 134 runs in the second ODI at Wellington on Saturday. Notably, rain had reduced this contest to a 47-over-per-side game. Gurnoor Brar led the charge with four wickets, while Auqib Nabi, Anshul Kamboj and Axar Patel dismissed two batters each. In response, India also lost wickets at regular intervals, but KL Rahul's composed knock and another rain interruption helped them secure a four-run win (DLS method).
Bowling strategy
Indian bowlers dominate the New Zealand batters
The Indian bowlers exploited the conditions to perfection, not giving the New Zealand batters a chance to settle in.
They bowled a whopping 176 dot balls, keeping constant pressure on their opponents.
Brar (4/30 in 10 overs) troubled the home batters with his pace and bounce, while Nabi (2/31 in seven overs) got the ball to move off the pitch.
Kamboj (2/25 in eight overs) bowled with control throughout his spell.
Arshdeep Singh went wicketless but bowled with discipline to deny runs (0/16 in 7 overs).
Axar finished with 2/28 in nine overs.
Match progress
Seifert, Young, and Nicholls dismissed in 1st powerplay
Auqib gave India an early breakthrough by dismissing Tim Seifert for a duck.
Will Young also struggled to score runs, managing just six off 17 balls before being dismissed by Arshdeep Singh.
Henry Nicholls was the next batter to go after scoring 11 off 26 balls.
At the end of the first powerplay, New Zealand were struggling at 29/3.
Turning point
Brar takes 2 wickets in an over after the powerplay
After the early damage, Brar took charge and made life difficult for the New Zealand batters.
He picked two wickets in a maiden over after the powerplay, first dismissing Tom Latham with a wide short-pitched delivery.
Glenn Phillips was also dismissed by Brar as both batters were caught, leaving New Zealand in deep trouble at 53/5.
Recovery attempt
Mitchell and Santner try to stabilize the innings
Daryl Mitchell and Mitchell Santner tried to stabilize the innings with a 59-run partnership.
Mitchell scored 55 off 104 balls while Santner made 31 off 38 deliveries.
However, Axar Patel broke the partnership by dismissing Mitchell who mistimed a lofted drive and was caught out.
Brar returned to dismiss Santner as well, leaving India in a strong position at this point in the match.
Historical context
New Zealand's lowest all-out total at home against India
As per Cricinfo, New Zealand's 134 is their lowest all-out total at home against India in ODIs.
Their previous lowest was 142 in Auckland in 1994 when India won by seven wickets.
Other low totals include New Zealand's 157 all out in Napier in 2019 and 168 in Wellington back in 2003.
Mitchell
Mitchell scripts history with 55 vs India
Mitchell smoked five fours and two sixes en route to his 104-ball 55.
With this knock, he broke a long-standing ODI record for the most runs scored by a New Zealand batter against India in a calendar year.
Mitchell has raced to a total of 435 runs against India this year at an average of 108.75 and a strike rate of 93.75.
Chase
India's topsy-turvy chase
Despite the bowlers' stellar performance, India's batting unit struggled to chase down the modest target.
Shubman Gill was dismissed for a golden duck while Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma managed only seven and 23 runs, respectively.
A brief 46-run partnership between Shreyas Iyer (30) and KL Rahul gave some hope, but wickets kept falling.
Rahul remained unbeaten on 26 off 38 when rain arrived, leaving India needing 22 more runs to seal victory with three wickets in hand.
As the game did not resume, India prevailed under the DLS method.
Mitchell
Highest average vs India
According to Cricinfo, the dasher now has four centuries and three fifties against them in just 13 innings.
Mitchell has scored 824 runs in these games, as his average of 68.66 is the best for any batter with at least 800 runs against India.
The star batter has overall smashed 2,894 ODI runs at a remarkable average of 56.74.
He has tallied 14 half-centuries in addition to nine tons.
Brar
Brar rattles New Zealand with career-best 4/30
Brar's 4/30 are now the third-best figures by an Indian against New Zealand in a men's ODI in New Zealand.
Meanwhile, the pacer has already raced to seven wickets in this series, having returned with 9.2-0-44-3 in the opener.
The young pacer has now raced to 21 wickets in 11 ODIs at an average of 31.19 and a strike rate of 6.52. His 50-over tally now stands at 33 wickets across 20 outings.
Rohit
Rohit becomes batter with most ODI sixes vs NZ
Rohit smoked two fours besides as many sixes in his 28-ball 23.
The Indian ace has now become the batter with the most sixes versus New Zealand in ODI cricket (51).
Rohit went past Pakistan's Shahid Afridi's tally of 50 sixes against the Black Caps.
The former has amassed 1,157 runs against NZ 35.06 (two hundreds and six fifties).
Overall in ODIs, Rohit has scored 12,143 runs at an average of 48.96. He has struck 35 hundreds, 63 fifties, and 383 sixes.
Kohli
Kohli becomes highest run-scorer against NZ in ODIs
During his seven-run stay, Virat became the highest run-scorer against New Zealand in ODIs.
He surpassed Australian legend Ricky Ponting's long-standing record of 1,971 runs.
With this achievement, Kohli has now raced to a total of 1,978 runs at 56.51 (100s: 7, 50s: 11).
Overall, the veteran has raced to 15,190 runs from 320 matches at a staggering average of 58.64.
Gill
Gill registers his maiden golden duck (ODIs)
Gill registered his first-ever golden duck in ODIs.
His only previous ODI duck came against Australia in the 2023 Visakhapatnam affair. He lasted two balls in that game.
Across 72 games, the Indian captain has smashed 3,750 runs at a remarkable average of 62.5, the best among batters with over 40 caps.
He owns 11 tons and 20 half-centuries.
NZ bowlers
Three-fers for Jamieson, Duffy
Pacers Kyle Jamieson and Jacob Duffy led NZ's efforts to clinch the low-scoring thriller.
The former claimed 3/35 in his 10 overs, taking his ODI tally to 34 wickets from 25 games at 30.85.
Meanwhile, Duffy's 3/35 across seven overs powered him to 46 wickets from 26 ODIs at an average of 23.82.
Matthew Fisher was NZ's other wicket-taker in the game (1/23 from 4 overs).