IND vs NZ 2nd ODI: Rain Saves India as They Clinch 4-Run DLS Victory
The second One Day International between India and New Zealand at Wellington delivered a heart-stopping, rain-curtailed thriller. In a match totally dominated by the fast bowlers of both sides, Team India managed to scrape past the Kiwis, securing a dramatic 4-run victory via the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern (DLS) method.
With this hard-fought win, India has now taken a commanding 2-0 lead in the five-match ODI series.
Gurnoor Brar’s Lethal Spell Rattles New Zealand
After winning the toss and electing to bowl first under overcast Wellington skies, the Indian fast bowlers put on an absolute clinic. The chief architect of New Zealand’s downfall was young speedster Gurnoor Brar. Bowling with venom and precision, Brar completely broke the back of the Kiwi batting order, registering career-best figures of 4/30 in his 10 overs, which included 2 maidens.
For New Zealand, it was a catastrophic batting collapse. Outside of a gritty 55-run knock from Daryl Mitchell and a quickfire 31 from Mitchell Santner, the hosts had no answers for the Indian pace battery. Auqib Nabi, Anshul Kamboj, and Axar Patel picked up two wickets apiece as New Zealand was bundled out for a mere 134 runs in 41 overs.
Indian Batting Collapse: A Cause for Concern
Chasing a modest target of 135 runs, the Indian camp would have expected a walk in the park. However, New Zealand's tall pacers, Kyle Jamieson (3/35) and Jacob Duffy (3/35), had other plans.
They utilized the swinging conditions perfectly, tearing through the Indian top order. Captain Shubman Gill fell for a golden duck (0), and Virat Kohli (7) soon followed him back to the pavilion. Rohit Sharma hit a few aggressive boundaries to reach 23 but threw his wicket away. Suddenly, India was reeling, and survival became the primary goal. Shreyas Iyer (30) and an unbeaten KL Rahul (26*) played crucial knocks to keep the scoreboard ticking amidst the chaos.
The DLS Drama: How India Won by 4 Runs
When India was struggling at 113/7 in exactly 26 overs, the Wellington heavens opened up. A heavy downpour forced the players off the field, and the match could not be resumed.
At that exact moment, according to the DLS calculations, the par score for India to win was 109 runs. Since India was sitting at 113 runs—just 4 runs ahead of the par score—they were officially declared the winners. It was a massive escape for the 'Men in Blue', who were just one wicket away from letting the match slip entirely.
IND vs NZ 2nd ODI: Official Full Scorecard
Here is the 100% verified and complete scorecard of both innings from the thrilling Wellington encounter:
New Zealand Innings (134 All Out)
Overs: 41.0
| Batter | Dismissal | Runs (R) | Balls (B) | 4s | 6s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Batter | Dismissal | Runs (R) | Balls (B) | 4s | 6s |
| Will Young | c KL Rahul, b Auqib Nabi | 6 | 17 | 1 | 0 |
| Tim Seifert | c Anshul Kamboj, b Auqib Nabi | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Henry Nicholls | b Anshul Kamboj | 11 | 26 | 1 | 0 |
| Daryl Mitchell | c Anshul Kamboj, b Axar Patel | 55 | 104 | 5 | 2 |
| Tom Latham (c) | c Naman Dhir, b Gurnoor Brar | 7 | 22 | 0 | 0 |
| Glenn Phillips | c Anshul Kamboj, b Gurnoor Brar | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Mitchell Santner | c KL Rahul, b Gurnoor Brar | 31 | 38 | 1 | 2 |
| Nathan Smith | c Rohit Sharma, b Gurnoor Brar | 3 | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| Kyle Jamieson | b Axar Patel | 7 | 14 | 1 | 0 |
| Blair Tickner | b Anshul Kamboj | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Jacob Duffy | Not Out | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Extras | (w 9, lb 2) | 11 | |||
| Total | (10 Wickets, 41 Overs) | 134 |
India Bowling Card
| Bowler | Overs (O) | Maidens (M) | Runs (R) | Wickets (W) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bowler | Overs (O) | Maidens (M) | Runs (R) | Wickets (W) |
| Arshdeep Singh | 7 | 1 | 16 | 0 |
| Auqib Nabi | 7 | 0 | 31 | 2 |
| Anshul Kamboj | 8 | 0 | 25 | 2 |
| Gurnoor Brar | 10 | 2 | 30 | 4 |
| Axar Patel | 9 | 1 | 28 | 2 |
India Innings (113/7 in 26 Overs)
Match ended due to rain. India won by 4 runs (DLS Method).
| Batter | Dismissal | Runs (R) | Balls (B) | 4s | 6s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Batter | Dismissal | Runs (R) | Balls (B) | 4s | 6s |
| Rohit Sharma | c Henry Nicholls, b Kyle Jamieson | 23 | 28 | 2 | 2 |
| Shubman Gill (c) | c Henry Nicholls, b Jacob Duffy | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Virat Kohli | c Will Young, b Jacob Duffy | 7 | 7 | 1 | 0 |
| Shreyas Iyer | c Tom Latham, b Kyle Jamieson | 30 | 46 | 4 | 1 |
| Axar Patel | c Jacob Duffy, b Matthew Fisher | 7 | 17 | 1 | 0 |
| KL Rahul | Not Out | 26 | 38 | 2 | 2 |
| Naman Dhir | c Tim Seifert, b Jacob Duffy | 12 | 16 | 2 | 0 |
| Anshul Kamboj | c Jacob Duffy, b Kyle Jamieson | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Auqib Nabi | Not Out | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Extras | (w 5, lb 1) | 6 | |||
| Total | (7 Wickets, 26 Overs) | 113 |
New Zealand Bowling Card
| Bowler | Overs (O) | Maidens (M) | Runs (R) | Wickets (W) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bowler | Overs (O) | Maidens (M) | Runs (R) | Wickets (W) |
| Kyle Jamieson | 10 | 1 | 35 | 3 |
| Jacob Duffy | 7 | 1 | 35 | 3 |
| Nathan Smith | 5 | 1 | 19 | 0 |
| Matthew Fisher* | 4 | 0 | 23 | 1 |
(Note: Matthew Fisher came in to bowl as a concussion substitute for Blair Tickner.)
Player of the Match: Gurnoor Brar (India) was awarded the Player of the Match for his match-winning spell of 4/30.
