India survived a dramatic late collapse to defeat New Zealand by four runs under the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern (DLS) method in the rain-affected second ODI here on Saturday, after Gurnoor Brar’s four-wicket haul restricted the hosts to 134.
Earlier, New Zealand, asked to bat first after India won the toss, were bowled out for 134 in 41 overs. Gurnoor led the Indian attack with four wickets for 30 runs in 10 overs, while Anshul Kamboj, Axar Patel and Auqib Nabi claimed two wickets each.
New Zealand’s innings never quite gathered momentum after losing three early wickets. Nabi struck to remove Tim Seifert for a duck, caught by Kamboj at mid-on. Will Young (6) followed, caught by Rahul off Nabi, before Kamboj dismissed Henry Nicholls for 11.
The hosts were struggling at 23 for three when Daryl Mitchell and the middle order attempted to rebuild. Mitchell, who made 55 off 104 balls with five fours and two sixes, was given a significant reprieve on 21 when India captain Shubman Gill dropped a catch at mid-off off Kamboj.
Mitchell had begun walking back, assuming the ball had been taken, but Gill failed to hold on to the opportunity. The New Zealand batsman made India pay by going on to score a half-century.
Mitchell and Mitchell Santner (31 off 38 balls) added 59 runs for the sixth wicket, offering New Zealand some hope of posting a competitive total. Axar eventually ended Mitchell’s resistance, with Kamboj taking the catch.
Gurnoor then took charge, breaking the lower-order resistance with a series of short deliveries. He dismissed Tom Latham (7), Glenn Phillips (0), Santner and Nathan Smith (3), as New Zealand lost their last five wickets for just 22 runs.
Axar also bowled Kyle Jamieson for seven, while Kamboj removed Blair Tickner in the lower order, completing the collapse with the dismissal of the final batsman.
India’s reply began badly, with Gill departing for a duck in the second over, caught by Nicholls off Jacob Duffy. Virat Kohli managed just seven before being caught by Young off Duffy, leaving India under early pressure.
Rohit Sharma made 23 off 28 balls but was dismissed by Jamieson. He had earlier survived a chance in the fourth over when Nathan Smith, running in from deep backward square leg, failed to complete a diving catch off Duffy. (UNI)
Rohit had played across a fuller delivery, getting a leading edge that went high behind square on the leg side, but the ball fell short of Smith.
Shreyas Iyer tried to steady the innings with 30 off 46 balls, but Jamieson removed him with a short delivery, caught by Latham. Axar Patel contributed seven before falling to Fisher, leaving India in a difficult position.
Rahul then attempted to keep the chase alive, finding support from Naman Dhir, who scored 12. However, Duffy dismissed Naman, caught by Seifert, before Jamieson removed Kamboj for one. India were left needing a strong finish, with Rahul unbeaten on 26 off 38 balls, including two fours and two sixes. Auqib Nabi remained not out on one.
Duffy and Jamieson finished with three wickets each, while Fisher claimed one as New Zealand’s pace attack pushed India to the brink of defeat.
India eventually finished on 113 for seven in 26 overs, securing a four-run win under the DLS method in a closely fought contest.