Bay Oval : New Zealand defeated India by 244 runs at Bay Oval, Mt Maunganui with help of 6 wickets haul of Matt Henry.
Henry gave a tragic deja vu to Indian Batting order taking them back to 2019 World Cup semi final where he shattered the top order, eventually, paving way for New Zealand’s final ticket. In this game too, he did the same.
India who’re chasing 334 on a tough deck faced the wrath of experienced Henry. In no time, he dismissed Indian top order including likes of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and skipper Shreyas Iyer in very first over of the innings for ducks. India were reduced to 9-4.
Ishan Kishan (27), Axar Patel (21) built a 44 runs stand but Henry yet again intervened to dismiss in touch Ishan. Even Matthew Fisher dismissed Axar Patel, Naman Dhir (21) and Auqib Nabi (5) to take 3 wickets and ending any slight hopes of Indian comeback.
Henry cleared up the tail to finish with a figure of 6/27, his second 5-fer against India in ODIs and earning first win for New Zealand in the series. Henry became only the second New Zealand bowler to take 6 wickets against India in an ODI encounter after Shane Bond (2005). This was the second biggest victory margin for New Zealand in ODI, also India’s 2nd biggest loss in ODI.
Earlier in the first innings, New Zealand opener Tim Seifert (58) scored a half century to give perfect start. Despite fall of 2 quick wickets, Finn Allen (41) took his aggressive approach, wickets however kept falling.
It was Will Young (125) who made the headlines with blistering innings of 125 (108) including 4 sixes and 14 boundaries, as New Zealand posted massive 333.
Henry will not feature in final ODI at as he’s set to join the camp for upcoming Test. India will fight for a series win on November 15 at the same venue.
Brief Scorecard :
NZ : 333 (50)
IND : 89 (26.4)
Result : New Zealand won by 244 runs.
