Nobody expected a thriller. New Zealand’s total of 134 looked small, and India’s batting line-up is not short of experience. But Wellington had other plans.
India’s quicks bowled tight lines from the first over. Arshdeep Singh conceded four runs in a four-over opening spell, with 20 dot balls. Nabi’s two wickets included Tim Seifert for a duck, which India Today and other outlets noted ended his wait for a first international wicket. Anshul Kamboj took a diving catch and then picked up two wickets himself.
Brar did the real damage. Deccan Chronicle reports his figures were the second-best by an Indian pacer in ODIs, and the scorecard shows his first spell was six overs for eight runs with two maidens and two wickets. He finished 4 for 30 in ten overs. Axar Patel added two wickets, and the Times of India highlighted that India’s bowlers delivered 176 dot balls, an unwanted home record for New Zealand.
Mitchell’s 55 was the only real resistance. He needed 104 balls for it. Mitchell Santner’s 31 off 38 gave the total some respectability, but NZ lost their last wicket in the 41st over.
A target of around 135 should have been routine. It wasn’t. India lost Shubman Gill to the first ball he faced, then Virat Kohli for 7, then Rohit Sharma for 23 off 28. Shreyas Iyer made 30 off 46, and he and KL Rahul put on a 39-run stand. But the scoring rate was slow, and Cricbuzz asked on the day whether India were too defensive with the bat.
India were 111/6 when rain arrived. The hosts’ own post on X at that moment said New Zealand needed three wickets and India needed 22 runs. Mumbai Indians’ account noted India were four runs ahead of the D/L par score. That margin was small, and it’s the one the match was decided on.
Play resumed on a reduced target. Gill said afterwards that he’d thought it would be an easy chase, but it turned out otherwise. KL Rahul finished unbeaten on 26 off 38 balls, with Nabi on 1 at the end. The final tally was 113/7, four runs ahead of par.
For India, the bowling unit stood out. Brar’s performance, Nabi’s wickets and Kamboj’s all-round contribution are what the team management will talk about. The Tribune ran a piece about Punjab’s pacers finally living up to expectations, which captures the mood.
For the top order, the picture is less comfortable. Gill’s duck and Kohli’s early exit put the pressure on the middle order, and the chase was only comfortable on paper. The Hindu and Cricinfo both described it as a low-scoring thriller, and several outlets noted how much the pitch helped the quicks. Daryl Mitchell reportedly compared it to a trampoline, per a Telangana Today headline.
For New Zealand, the defeat hurts for a different reason. They bowled well enough in the chase to take India to the brink, and the NZ Herald’s headline said rain denied them. A bigger total would have made that moment decisive.
India lead 2-0 in a series that runs until November 15, so the third ODI is a chance to wrap it up. New Zealand’s problem is batting. They were bowled out in the first innings in both matches I’ve seen reported, and 134 isn’t going to win many games.
India’s issue is different. They have the series, but a pitch with this kind of bounce is going to keep asking questions of their top order.
