Gurnoor Brar produced a career-best spell as India edged New Zealand by four runs under the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern (DLS) method in a rain-hit second ODI in Wellington on Saturday, November 7, to take a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.
Rain cut the contest at Hnry Stadium to 47 overs a side before it was finally called off with India ahead of the par score, giving the visitors a second win of the series after their victory in Auckland.
Brar leads the bowling effort
India captain Shubman Gill won the toss and chose to bowl, and his seamers made the most of the conditions. New Zealand were bowled out for 134 in 41 overs.
Brar finished with four wickets for 30 runs, removing Mitchell Santner, Tom Latham, Glenn Phillips and Nathan Smith, and was named Player of the Match, according to Dawn. Auqib Nabi made early inroads and claimed his maiden international wicket when he dismissed Tim Seifert, while Anshul Kamboj and Axar Patel took two wickets each.
Daryl Mitchell held New Zealand’s innings together with 55 off 104 balls, having been dropped by Gill on 21. Santner added 31 off 38 balls, but the hosts never built the partnership needed to post a bigger total. Santner later said his side could have reached 160 to 180 on a tough pitch, Dawn reported.
A tense chase interrupted by rain
India’s reply began badly. Jacob Duffy removed Gill for a golden duck with his first ball and then dismissed Virat Kohli for 7 in his next over. India slipped to 47 for four as New Zealand’s pace attack kept up the pressure.
Rohit Sharma made 23 and Shreyas Iyer contributed 30 off 46 balls, while KL Rahul’s unbeaten 26 off 38 balls proved vital. When rain stopped play after 26 overs, India were 113 for seven, four runs ahead of the DLS par score of 109, and the match was not resumed.
Duffy and Kyle Jamieson each finished with three wickets for 35 runs.
After the match, Gill admitted the chase was harder than expected. “I thought it’ll be an easy target but it wasn’t,” he said, as quoted by Dawn. According to The Tribune, he also backed Brar to become more consistent with experience, noting the fast bowler already has pace and bounce.
Match at a glance
- Result: India won by 4 runs (DLS method)
- New Zealand: 134 all out (41 overs), Daryl Mitchell 55, Gurnoor Brar 4-30
- India: 113-7 (26 overs), Shreyas Iyer 30, KL Rahul 26 not out, Jacob Duffy 3-35, Kyle Jamieson 3-35
- Series: India lead 2-0 in the five-match ODI series
Some reports gave New Zealand’s total as 135, while Dawn and the final entry of Outlook India’s live blog give 134.
What comes next
The series moves to Seddon Park in Hamilton for the third ODI on Tuesday, November 10, where India can seal the series with a win. The match is scheduled to start at 3pm local time, which is 6am in the UAE and 7:30am in India, making it an early start for fans in the Gulf.
The remaining two ODIs are due to be played at Mount Maunganui on November 13 and 15, before the teams move on to a two-Test series beginning in Wellington on November 19. For background on how the series began, see Al Gulf News’s first ODI preview.
Sources: Dawn, Outlook India, The Tribune, ESPN.
