India suffered one of their most humiliating defeats in ODI cricket history, going down to New Zealand by 244 runs in the fourth match of the five-match series at Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui on Friday.
Chasing a formidable target of 334, India were bundled out for just 89 in 26.4 overs, handing New Zealand their first victory of the series and registering India’s second-biggest defeat in the 50-over format in terms of runs.
The Indian innings unravelled almost immediately as Matt Henry produced a sensational opening over, claiming three wickets without conceding a run to leave the visitors reeling at 0/3.
Henry struck with the very first delivery, dismissing Rohit Sharma for a golden duck after the Indian opener edged a delivery to Finn Allen at first slip.
The New Zealand pacer continued his devastating spell by removing Virat Kohli and stand-in captain Shreyas Iyer in quick succession. Kohli, who struggled against Henry’s movement early in his innings, was bowled for a four-ball duck after a delivery nipped back sharply and went through the gap between bat and pad.
Iyer’s stay was equally brief, with Henry trapping him leg before wicket on the final delivery of the opening over. The three-wicket maiden left India in complete disarray and effectively put the contest beyond their reach.
Ruturaj Gaikwad was the only other Indian batter to reach double figures in the top order, scoring five runs, while Ishan Kishan top-scored with 27 off 53 deliveries.
Axar Patel contributed 21, while Naman Dhir and Arshdeep Singh remained among the other batters to feature in the scorecard. However, India failed to build any meaningful partnership as New Zealand’s bowling attack kept striking at regular intervals.
Henry finished with impressive figures of 6-27 from 9.4 overs, while Matthew Fisher picked up three wickets. Kyle Jamieson claimed one wicket as the hosts wrapped up the Indian innings well inside 30 overs.
Earlier, New Zealand had posted a commanding 333 in their allotted 50 overs, powered by a magnificent 125 off 108 balls from Will Young. Tim Seifert provided strong support with 58 off 48 deliveries, while Finn Allen contributed 41 off just 30 balls.
Mitchell Santner added 24, and Kristian Clarke chipped in with 22 as New Zealand built a substantial total despite losing wickets at regular intervals towards the latter stages of the innings.
For India, Arshdeep Singh, Auqib Nabi, Gurnoor Brar and Axar Patel picked up two wickets each, while Naman Dhir claimed one.
The 244-run defeat is now India’s second-largest loss by runs in ODI cricket. Their biggest defeat remains the 245-run loss against Sri Lanka in 2000.
The result also gives New Zealand their first win of the five-match series, although India remain ahead in the contest.
