India vs New Zealand : When the players were forced to leave due to rain after 18 overs of the chase, they were well ahead of the DLS target. New Zealand take ODI series 1-0 after yet another no-result
No outcome: New Zealand 104 for 1 (Allen 57, Conway 38*, Malik 1-31) vs. India 219 (Washington 51, Iyer 49, Mitchell 3-25, Milne 3-57)
The series finale of the one-day international match between India vs New Zealand was cancelled due to rain in Christchurch after 18 overs of India’s 219. When the players were removed from the field at Hagley Oval, New Zealand was 104 for 1, considerably beyond the DLS goal, thanks to Devon Conway’s 38 not out in 51 balls and Finn Allen’s 54-ball 57. However, because the 20-over threshold had not been crossed, the game terminated without a decision, giving New Zealand a 1-0 series victory. The brief white-ball series’ fourth of six games took place that day.
Earlier, New Zealand won the toss and elected to field first. Their seamers took advantage of the favourable surface and weather circumstances to dismiss India for 219 runs. To push India back, Adam Milne and Daryl Mitchell each took three wickets. And India would have had difficulty reaching 200 if not for Washington Sundar’s first ODI half-century, which came after Shreyas Iyer’s 49 from No. 3.
In the second over of the chase, Arshdeep Singh delivered a maiden that Devon Conway had difficulties fielding due to his ability to move the ball both ways. However, Allen was unable to be stopped at the other end, and Conway gradually gained momentum as well, even hitting four fours in a Deepak Chahar over. It enabled New Zealand to finish the race with 59 victories.
Umran Malik’s fast bowling produced rapid runs; his first two overs produced 21 runs. When Allen reached a 50-ball half-century, he feasted on his bowling and reached the milestone by hitting Washington over long-off. Allen was eventually caught in the covers by Malik for India’s lone wicket. A while later, the skies started to pour.
As we mentioned in our preview, rain was expected for the game, and a drizzle caused the game’s start to be delayed by ten minutes. Following that, openers Shikhar Dhawan and Shubman Gill were largely kept in the dark by Tim Southee and Matt Henry. This is true even though Dhawan frequently charged down the pitch in an effort to throw the quick bowlers off their lengths.
He sprinted down the track before scoring his first two boundaries, a four over cover point and a six over long-on. But after 10 overs, he had only managed to score 25 from 36 balls, thus his exploits were in vain.
After facing 11 dots, Gill started off strong, hitting two fours (a delicious drive through extra cover and a front-foot pull through midwicket) before flicking one to the front square-leg for Milne’s first wicket. After yet another slink down the wicket, Milne, who had replaced Michael Bracewell in the XI, got Dhawan playing one on via the inside edge. In between, though, he grassed Iyer at deep third.
For a time, Iyer and Rishabh Pant held the ship steady without actually gaining much speed. Iyer appeared confident as he timed his cuts and punches through the off side and didn’t hesitate to throw heaves to the leg side. Suryakumar Yadav edged one to slip off Milne for the second time in the series before Mitchell, who had only one ODI wicket prior to Wednesday, forced out Pant with a short one.
Iyer then sliced one and appeared to be on his way to recording his second half-century of the game, but Devon Conway made a sharp catch while sprinting in from sweeper cover. India was in ruins after scoring 121 for 5.
India was in danger of falling far short of the 200-run threshold when Deepak Hooda lost his wicket with the team on 149. However, Washington once again demonstrated his batting prowess in the series—following his unbeaten 16-ball 37 in the first ODI—and added significant runs with the tail before going out as the final victim.
The sum appeared to be far below average, but New Zealand vs India appeared to be in good shape to make up ground. We will, however, never be able to tell if an unexpected outcome was on the horizon due to the rain.