Gurnoor Brar stepped up to the plate under helpful conditions as his 4-wicket haul helped India restrict New Zealand to a paltry score. Gurnoor Brar was special as he came as a first-change bowler and rocked the Kiwis. Brar was ably supported by Anshul Kamboj and Auqib Nabi who picked up 2 wickets each, alongside Axar Patel, who also picked up 2 wickets as New Zealand were bowled out for 134 in 41 overs.
In the chase, it was not easy as India huffed and puffed in this game. They had to really battle hard and Shreyas Iyer scored 30, while KL Rahul held one fort up with an unbeaten 26 off 38 balls while Rohit Sharma made 23 at the top of the order as India weather Kyle Jamieson’s 3-wicket haul and Jacob Duffy’s 3-wicket haul as India finished with 113/7 in 26 overs when the rain intervened with 22 more to get and the match was called off with India winning in the DLS method by 4 runs to go 2-0 up.
Gurnoor Brar’s impressive 4-wicket haul restricts New Zealand to 134 in 41 overs.Â
Put into bat first once again on a difficult track and conditions, Will Young and Tim Seifert came out to open the batting for New Zealand while Arshdeep Singh had the ball in hand for India. The first-wicket pair added 0 runs and took 11 balls to be separated before Seifert fell for 0 off 5 balls to Auqib Nabi as the pacer picked his maiden ODI wicket. Henry Nicholls came out to bat next. Young and Nicholls added 11 runs for the second wicket before Young fell for 6 off 17 balls with one four to his name to Nabi who had his second scalp.
Daryl Mitchell came out to bat next. Nicholls and Mitchell got together and tried to forge a partnership as they added 12 runs for the third wicket before Nicholls fell for 11 off 26 balls with one four to his name to Anshul Kamboj as the batter chopped it back onto the stumps. Keeper batter Tom Latham came out to bat at 23/3 in the 9th over. At the end of the first power play, New Zealand were 29/3 in 10 overs in this 47-over contest.
The duo tried to continue their partnership as Mitchell got a lifeline when batting on 21* and the team score at 45 when in the 17th over, Shubman Gill India’s captain dropped a sitter at covers as Kamboj was denied another wicket and the Indians could not believe their misfortune. Mitchell and Latham added 30 runs for the 4th wicket before Latham fell for 7 off 22 balls to Gurnoor Brar as Naman Dhir took the catch in the deep.
Glenn Phillips came out to bat next. Brar had two in the over when Phillips was dismissed for a 4th ball duck as Kamboj took the catch in the deep at fine leg. Captain Mitchell Santner came out to bat next with New Zealand at 53/5 in 20 overs. Mitchell and Santner applied themselves out there in the middle as Mitchell was making India pay for the dropped catch. Santner also played his part and looked a lot at ease than the other batters out there. The Mitchell- Santner partnership flourished and gave New Zealand something to cheer about in difficult conditions.
The duo took New Zealand past 100 and added 59 crucial runs for the 6th wicket before Mitchell who completed his fifty against India again was prized out for 55 off 104 balls with 5 fours and 2 sixes to his name to Axar Patel as he was caught in the deep by Anshul Kamboj at long-off. Nathan Smith came out to bat next. Santner and Smith added 7 runs more to the score before Santner the other set batter was dismissed for 31 off 38 balls with one four and two sixes to his name to Brar.
Kyle Jamieson came out to bat next. Jamieson came and was hit on the helmet before playing a few shots. Smith and Jamieson added 8 runs for the 8th wicket before Jamieson fell for 7 off 14 balls with one four to his name as he was cleaned up by Axar Patel. Blair Tickner came out to bat next. Just 5 runs were added to the score before Nathan Smith fell for 3 off 9 balls to Brar yet again. Jacob Duffy came out to bat next. Tickner was hit hard on the helmet by a snorter from Kamboj and he was dazed with a mandatory concussion check was done on him.
The last wicket pair could add only 2 runs to the score before Tickner was the last man out for 2 off 5 balls to Kamboj. Duffy remained unbeaten on 1 off 3 balls as New Zealand were bowled out for 134 in 41 overs. But Tickner was ruled out of the match at the interval, and so Matthew Fisher came in as the concussion replacement for Tickner. 11 extras given by India in the first innings.
Gurnoor Brar was the pick of the bowlers for India with figures of 4/30 in 10 overs. He was ably supported by Anshul Kamboj who finished with 2/25 in 8 overs. Auqib Nabi who finished with 2/31 in 7 overs. Axar Patel finished with 2/28 in 9 overs. Arshdeep Singh finished with 0/16 in 7 overs. This meant that the target for India when they came out to bat was 135 runs in 47 overs for a 2-0 lead in the 5-match ODI series.
Shreyas Iyer & KL Rahul star in challenging conditions as India stumble to 113/7 in 26 overs before rain halts proceedings; India win the contest by DLS to go 2-0 up.Â
Chasing 135 for the win in 47 overs, Rohit Sharma and captain Shubman Gill came out to open the batting for India while Kyle Jamieson had the ball in hand for New Zealand. The opening duo could add just 4 runs for the first wicket before Gill was dismissed for a golden duck to Jacob Duffy. Virat Kohli came out to bat next and got off the mark with a boundary. Kohli and Rohit added 13 runs for the second wicket before Kohli fell for 7 off 7 balls with one four to his name to Duffy. Shreyas Iyer came out to bat next.
Rohit and Shreyas tried to forge a stand under challenging conditions with regards to the pitch conditions. The duo put on 22 runs for the 3rd wicket before Rohit fell for 23 off 28 balls with 2 fours and 2 sixes to his name to Kyle Jamieson. Axar Patel came out to bat next. India reached 40/3 in 10 overs of power play. Shreyas and Axar added 8 runs for the 4th wicket before Axar fell for 7 off 17 balls with one four to his name to Matthew Fisher. KL Rahul the keeper-batter came out to bat next.
India were in a spot of bother at 47/4 in 12.5 overs when Rahul and Iyer forged a partnership. The duo of Shreyas and Rahul added an important 39-run stand for the 5th wicket before Shreyas fell for 30 off 46 balls with 4 fours and one six to his name to Kyle Jamieson. Naman Dhir came out to bat next. Naman looked assured while he was there at the crease while Rahul was steady as well.
The duo added 22 runs for the 6th wicket as India were 86/5 in 20 overs and went to 108 in the 25th over before Naman fell for 12 off 16 balls with 2 fours to his name to Duffy. Anshul Kamboj came out to bat next. Just 3 runs were added to the total before Kamboj gave his wicket away to Jamieson for 1 off 3 balls. Auqib Nabi came out to bat next and took a single off the only ball he faced. India went to 113/7 in 26 overs when rain intervened and persistent rain made sure that further play was not possible.
KL Rahul remained unbeaten on 26 off 38 balls with 2 fours and 2 sixes to his name while Nabi remained unbeaten on 1 off 1 ball as India won the contest by 4 runs under the DLS method. 6 extras given by the fielding side. Kyle Jamieson was the pick of the bowlers for New Zealand with figures of 3/35 in 10 overs. Jacob Duffy finished with 3/35 in 7 overs. Matthew Fisher chipped in with 1/23 in 4 overs. Nathan Smith finished with 0/19 in 5 overs. So, India wins the contest and go 2-0 up in the 5-match ODI series. Gurnoor Brar was adjudged the Player of the Match.
What Lies Ahead.Â
So, India goes 2-0 up in the 5-match ODI series with 3 games left to play. The 3rd ODI will be played at Seddon Park, Hamilton on Tuesday, 10th November, 2026. India will look to seal the series there and there. While New Zealand will be desperate to stay alive in the series. The match is set to start from 7:30 AM IST onwards. It will be the last game for Shubman Gill before he prepares for the Test series.
Which way will it go in Hamilton? Will the rain stay away? We shall find that out soon.
Also Read: NZ VS IND: Gurnoor Brar’s 4-Wicket Haul Shocks New Zealand.