Matt Henry took 6 for 27, including Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer in the first over, and Will Young made 125 as New Zealand beat India by 244 runs at Mount Maunganui. India, bowled out for 89, still lead the five-match series 2-1.
Mount Maunganui, New Zealand: Matt Henry decided the fourth ODI in a single over. Handed the new ball with India chasing 334, he had Rohit Sharma caught at slip off his first delivery, bowled Virat Kohli and trapped Shreyas Iyer lbw, and India were 0 for 3 before the over was out. Henry later bowled Gurnoor Brar to end the innings on 89 in 26.4 overs, a 244-run defeat at Bay Oval on Friday.
Young rides his luck
India chose to field and gave Will Young a reprieve in the second over, when Rohit dropped him at slip and wicketkeeper Ishan Kishan put down the next ball, with Young on five. He made them pay. Young added 85 for the first wicket with Tim Seifert, who reached 50 off 39 balls on his way to 58, then put on 90 in 65 balls with Finn Allen after Nick Kelly and Dean Foxcroft fell to loose shots. Young’s hundred came off 88 balls and he finished with 125 from 108, hitting 14 fours and four sixes. It was the highest ODI score of his career and his fifth hundred in the format. Allen made 41 off 30 balls.
India pulled things back late. Axar Patel took 2 for 39 from his 10 overs, Auqib Nabi 2 for 59 and Gurnoor Brar 2 for 69, and New Zealand managed 68 in the last 10 overs before they were bowled out for 333 off the final ball of the innings.
A chase that never began
Henry’s first over settled it. Rohit edged his first ball, Kohli was bowled and Iyer, captaining India with Shubman Gill and KL Rahul rested ahead of the Tests, was given out lbw to a ball that hit him on the back leg. All three went for ducks. Ruturaj Gaikwad was out for 5 to make it 9 for 4, and India were 66 for 7 before the last three wickets added 23.
Kishan top-scored with 27 and added 44 with Axar, who made 21, while Naman Dhir hit two sixes in his 21. Matthew Fisher took 3 for 31 and Henry came back to finish with 6 for 27 from 9.4 overs, the first six-wicket haul of his ODI career.
A heavy defeat in context
The margin was the second-biggest by which India have lost an ODI by runs, behind a 245-run defeat to Sri Lanka in 2000, and 89 was their sixth-lowest ODI total. Iyer said afterwards that the team needed to put the game behind it and work out what went wrong with bat and ball, while pointing out that India had already won two of the first three matches.
The result does not change who can win the series. India lead 2-1 after winning the second ODI in Wellington and seeing the third in Hamilton washed out, and New Zealand, who cannot win it, can still draw it by winning the final ODI at the same ground on Sunday. The Tests follow, beginning in Wellington on 19 November, and New Zealand have named a 14-man squad that brings back Jacob Duffy.
Result: Fourth ODI, Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui: New Zealand won by 244 runs. New Zealand 333 all out in 50 overs (Will Young 125, Tim Seifert 58, Finn Allen 41; Axar Patel 2-39, Auqib Nabi 2-59, Gurnoor Brar 2-69). India 89 all out in 26.4 overs (Ishan Kishan 27, Axar Patel 21, Naman Dhir 21; Matt Henry 6-27, Matthew Fisher 3-31). India won the toss and chose to field. Player of the Match: Matt Henry. India lead the five-match series 2-1.
