Daryl Mitchell stamped his authority and showed his class as he scored his masterful 8th ODI ton and helped New Zealand chase down 285 to level the series 1-1 with a 6-wicket win inside 48 overs. Daryl Mitchell looked in control of proceedings from the get go as he came in when New Zealand were in a spot of bother at 46/2 and helped Will Young out and then put in a match winning partnership.
Before that, we saw KL Rahul’s masterful 8th ODI ton helped India recover from a precarious position from 118/4 to get to 284/7 which was a competitive score where Shubman Gill the captain also scored a half-century. But in reply, Mitchell and Young stole the show with Young scoring 87 and Mitchell 131* as the big partnership of 162 runs took the game away from India who were sloppy in the field and dropped multiple catches.
KL Rahul’s masterful 8th ODI ton helped India recover and post 284/7
Put into bat first, Rohit Sharma and captain Shubman Gill came out to bat for India while Kyle Jamieson had ball in hand for New Zealand. After a careful start the duo of Gill and Rohit got going. This time Gill was the aggressor while Rohit took his time. They upped the ante a little and dominated the first powerplay. The powerplay score was 57/0 in 10 overs and India were off to a steady start as at this stage apart from Jamieson, the other Kiwi bowlers went for runs.
The duo carried on beyond the powerplay and put on 70 for the first wicket before Rohit gave his wicket away by going for the big one and got holed out in the deep by Will Young for 24 off 38 balls with 4 fours to his name as Kristian Clarke picked up his wicket. Virat Kohli came out to bat next. Kohli got off the mark with a boundary through a cover drive.
Gill was in full flow as he hit some cover drives and short arm jabs of his own and reached his half century as well. He was on a roll but he too gave his wicket away when at 56 off 53 balls with 9 fours and one six to his name he pulled the short ball straight to short midwicket where Mitchell made no mistake. The partnership was worth 29 between the Prince and the King before the Prince fell. Vice-Captain Shreyas Iyer came out to bat next and was a struggle stay at the crease.
Kohli looked in his zone till he was there. The duo of Kohli and Iyer added 16 more to the score before the vice-captain Iyer fell for 8 off 17 balls as he was caught at mid-off with the batter throwing his wicket away. Keeper batter KL Rahul came out to bat next. Kristian Clarke then provided the massive blow for India as he dismissed the form batter Virat Kohli for 23 off 29 balls with 2 fours to his name as he tried to run it down to third man and chopped it back onto the stumps.
India were 118/4 in 23.3 overs when Ravindra Jadeja joined Rahul in the middle. The duo were tasked to rebuild proceedings and they stepped up to the plate. They got themselves in and then started to play their shots. Jadeja and Rahul both took their time initially before Rahul stepped it up a bit and so did Jadeja. The duo put on a crucial 73-run stand for the 5th wicket off 88 balls to keep India’s hopes alive. They also batted deep from the 24th over till the completion of over 38 and that was important as India needed to bat deep.
Then Michael Bracewell came back into the attack and dismissed Jadeja for 27 off 44 balls with one boundary to his name. Nitish Kumar Reddy came out to bat next. He too got a start and gave good company to Rahul. But the story was all about KL Rahul. Often called the crisis man, Rahul stood up when India needed it the most and Reddy supported him as well from the other end. He rotated the strike and managed to hit a maximum as well. But Rahul was the main batter out there.
The duo of Rahul and Reddy also put in a 57-run stand off 49 balls and playing deep as India lacked batting depth after this pair. Reddy got to 20 before he fell for 20 off 21 balls with one six to his name to Zak Foulkes as he was holed out in the deep. Harshit Rana came out to bat next and got off the mark as well. The duo of Rahul and Siraj added 8 runs to the scoreboard before Rana fell to debutant Lennox for 2 off 4 balls.
Mohammed Siraj came out to bat next and got off the mark to give Rahul the strike back. 2.4 overs were still left when Siraj joined Rahul and Rahul took bulk of the strike and scored prolifically as well. Siraj was staying away from the crease while Rahul was timing it beautifully en-route to his 8th ODI ton and he got there with a maximum off the 49th over and he took 87 balls in getting there.
Thereafter, Rahul finished with a flourish and finished things off with a couple of boundaries including the last ball of the innings as India recovered well from 118/4 to 284/7 in 50 overs in what was a competitive score and not necessarily a winning score. Rahul remained unbeaten on 112 off 92 balls with 11 fours and one six to his name while Siraj remained unbeaten on 2 off 3 balls. 10 extras given by the fielding side.
Kristian Clarke bowled well for New Zealand and finished with 3/56 in 8 overs. Michael Bracewell the captain bowled well for his 1/34 in 10 overs. Jayden Lennox on debut bowled really well for his 1/42 in 10 overs. Kyle Jamieson finished with 1/70 in 10 overs while Zak Foulkes finished with 1/67 in 9 overs. Glenn Phillips finished with 0/13 in 3 overs. This meant New Zealand needed 285 runs to win off 50 overs to level the series 1-1.
Daryl Mitchell’s 8th ODI ton leads New Zealand to an emphatic win to level the series
Chasing 285 for the win, Devon Conway and Henry Nicholls came out to bat for New Zealand while Mohammed Siraj had ball in hand for India. The Kiwis also started cautiously like the Indians. But India were disciplined with their lines and lengths in the powerplay. The opening duo put on 22 for the first wicket in over 5 overs before Conway was cleaned up by Harshit Rana for 16 off 21 balls with 3 fours to his name. Will Young came out to bat next.
Young looked scratchy initially and so did Nicholls but they hung in there and took the team post the first powerplay. The powerplay score was 34/1 in 10 overs for the Kiwis. The duo of Nicholls and Young added 24 runs for the second wicket before Nicholls chopped on the attempted pull shot onto the stumps off Prasidh Krishna. New Zealand were in a spot of bother at this stage when the ever dependable Daryl Mitchell joined Will Young in the middle.
What followed was a total change in momentum as Mitchell changed the complexion of the game and upped the ante and helped Young along the way. Young was also established and soon Mitchell joined in and put the pressure back on the Indians. The Indian bowlers wilted under pressure and bowled bad deliveries from time to time. Run scoring became easy. And then, the duo targeted India’s wicket-taker Kuldeep Yadav who had an off-day to say the least.
Kuldeep lost the plot when attacked and Jadeja looked ineffective as a wicket-taker and the spinners let India down after the pacers bowled well in the powerplay. The duo did not break a sweat. Mitchell in particular. Yes, Young was scratchy but the more he batted with Mitchell, he grew with confidence and batted in control. The duo aced the middle phase and put on a match defining 162 off 152 balls with Mitchell scoring 88 off them and Young 70 off them.
India had their chances as Mitchell survived a run out scare as Jadeja missed the stumps while Prasidh Krishna dropped a sitter at long-on when Mitchell was on 80, off Kuldeep’s bowling as he was unlucky as well. Soon, India finally got a wicket but it was too late in the night as Young fell for 87 off 98 balls with 7 fours to his name to Kuldeep Yadav. Glenn Phillips came out to bat next. Mitchell survived a scare as well when he was given wrongly adjudged LBW to Siraj before DRS saved him as he got an inside edge.
After this, there was no looking back as the duo of Phillips and Mitchell did not allow any more hiccups in the middle. Phillips took his time initially and then accelerated and Mitchell was in the zone and completed his 8th ODI ton and carried on from there to remain unbeaten. Phillips got into his work as well and showed his prowess.
The duo put on an unbroken stand of 78 off 57 balls with Phillips remaining unbeaten on 32 off 25 balls with 2 fours and one six to his name as he got a good score to his name. But it was all about Daryl Mitchell who got his 8th ODI ton and hit the winning runs.
He remained unbeaten on 131 off 117 balls with 11 fours and 2 sixes to his name as New Zealand got over the line in 47.3 overs winning by 7 wickets with 15 balls to spare. 10 extras given by the fielding side. It was a tough day for the Indian bowlers especially the spinners. Harshit Rana finished with 1/52 in 9.3 overs. Prasidh Krishna finished with 1/49 in 9 overs. Kuldeep Yadav had a day to forget as he finished with 1/82 in 10 overs. Mohammed Siraj finished with 0/41 in 9 overs. Ravindra Jadeja finished with 0/44 in 8 overs. Nitish Kumar Reddy bowled 2 overs for 13 runs. So, New Zealand win by 7 wickets with 15 balls to spare to level the series 1-1. Daryl Mitchell was awarded the Player of the Match.
What Lies Ahead
So, New Zealand have roared back to level the series 1-1. This is a 3-match series and so, we are set for the decider at the Holkar Stadium in Indore where the 3rd and final ODI will be played on Super Sunday on 18th January 2026 from 1:30 PM IST onwards. Who will take home the trophy? It can go either way. Find out in the series decider on Sunday.
Also Read: IND vs NZ: KL Rahul’s Classy 8th ODI Ton Helps India Recover & Post 284/7