A disciplined bowling display, led by Gurnoor Brar’s four-wicket haul, helped India bowl out New Zealand for 134 in 41 overs in the second ODI at the Basin Reserve in Wellington on Saturday, putting the visitors in a strong position.
Brar returned impressive figures of 4/30 in his 10 overs, while Anshul Kamboj, Axar Patel and Auqib Nabi claimed two wickets each as New Zealand struggled against India’s bowling attack on a two-paced surface.
After opting to bowl, India made an early breakthrough when Nabi dismissed Tim Seifert for a duck in the second over. Seifert mistimed a drive off a delivery that held up on the surface, offering a straightforward catch to Kamboj at mid-on.
Kamboj then removed Will Young (6), who edged a delivery outside off-stump to wicketkeeper KL Rahul, leaving New Zealand reeling at 11/2.
The pacer struck again in his next over, dismissing Henry Nicholls (11), who got an inside edge onto his boot before the ball rolled back onto the stumps. New Zealand slipped to 23/3 inside nine overs and managed just 29 runs in the first 10 overs.
Brar tightened India’s grip on the match with two wickets in the 20th over, removing Tom Latham (7) and Glenn Phillips (0). Both batters fell attempting pulls against his short deliveries, with Naman Dhir and Kamboj completing the catches at deep square leg and fine leg, respectively.
With New Zealand struggling at 53/5, Daryl Mitchell attempted to steady the innings with a fighting 55 off 104 balls, including five fours and two sixes. Captain Mitchell Santner provided support with 31 off 38 deliveries as the pair added 59 runs for the sixth wicket.
Axar broke the partnership in the 35th over, dismissing Mitchell with Kamboj taking the catch at long-off. Brar then removed Santner, who edged behind to Rahul, before Axar bowled Kyle Jamieson for seven.
Brar claimed his fourth wicket by dismissing Nathan Smith in the 40th over, while Kamboj wrapped up the innings by bowling Blair Tickner (2) in the following over, with New Zealand dismissed for 134.
Brief Scores: New Zealand 134 all out in 41 overs (Daryl Mitchell 55, Mitchell Santner 31; Gurnoor Brar 4/30, Anshul Kamboj 2/25, Axar Patel 2/28, Auqib Nabi 2/31) against India.
(IANS Inputs)
