IND vs NZ 2nd ODI : India won by 4 runs (DLS rules) in the second ODI match played on Saturday at Henry Stadium in Wellington. In this low scoring match, the bowlers dominated and the batsmen were seen struggling. At the same time, rain also remained a hindrance. With the second consecutive win, India has taken a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.
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Due to rain, the match started late by an hour and the overs were reduced to 47-47 overs. After winning the toss, captain Shubman Gill invited New Zealand to bat. Starting with the new ball, Aaqib Nabi laid a strong foundation for the team by dismissing both New Zealand openers early. Even though Arshdeep did not get any wicket, he did not give any easy opportunity to the batsmen with the new ball.
Anshul Kamboj took a wicket in his very first over, leaving the hosts at 23/3. Mitchell and Latham tried to take control of the innings, but the Indian bowling was very disciplined, leaving the batsmen struggling to find rhythm. Mitchell got a lease of life on the score of 21 runs when Gill dropped his catch on the ball of Anshul Kamboj. A few overs later, Gurnoor Brar dismissed Tom Latham and Glenn Phillips with bouncers in the same over, reducing New Zealand's score to 53/5.
Mitchell and Santner made a half-century partnership, but as soon as this partnership was broken, New Zealand's innings quickly disintegrated. Mitchell was caught out at long-off while trying to toss Axar's ball in the air, and in the very next over Santner also became the victim of Brar. New Zealand lost its last 5 wickets in just 22 runs. India bowled out New Zealand for 134 runs in 41 overs.
Brar took the maximum of four wickets for India on a pitch favorable for fast bowlers, while Aaqib, Akshar and Kamboj got two wickets each. The target of 135 runs in the second innings seemed easy. But, Duffy dismissed the two batsmen who looked most comfortable in the previous match. Gill was out on the very first ball (golden duck), while Kohli opened his account with a brilliant cover drive, but could only score a total of 7 runs. Rohit got beaten many times. He hit four fours, but ultimately became the victim of Jameson.
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Akshar, who came to bat at number 5, gave an easy catch towards third man, due to which India's score became 47/4. Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul took control of the innings to some extent by adding 39 runs for the fifth wicket, but then Shreyas was out to a sharp in-seaming bouncer from Jameson. Naman Dhir hit some fours, but was caught out while playing a pull shot.
Jameson took his third wicket by dismissing Anshul Kamboj in his last over. When 22 runs were needed in 21 overs and only three wickets were left, the rain came and showed no signs of stopping, which brought a new twist in the match. The match could not be restarted and India was leading by 4 runs as per DLS rule, hence they won. Gurnoor Brar, who bowled brilliantly in this match, was chosen as the player of the match.