India vs New Zealand 2nd ODI: A Four-Run DLS Win Seals The Series

Rain decided the India vs New Zealand 2nd ODI in Wellington on Saturday, and India finished four runs ahead on the Duckworth Lewis Stern method. New Zealand were bowled out for 134. India were 113 for 7 after 26 overs when the players left the field, against a par score of 109. India lead the three match series 2-0 and cannot now lose it.

Gurnoor Brar took 4 for 30, his best figures in one day international cricket.

Brar’s four wickets break the top order

New Zealand slipped to 53 for 5. Brar did most of the damage and Auqib Nabi added 2 for 31. The innings recovered far enough to reach 134. India then lost seven wickets chasing it, so the total did more work than it first appeared to be worth. Four bowlers took wickets.

• Gurnoor Brar 4 for 30
• Kyle Jamieson 3 for 33
• Jacob Duffy 3 for 35
• Auqib Nabi 2 for 31

New Zealand’s only partnership

Daryl Mitchell made 55. Mitchell Santner made 31. Their sixth wicket stand was worth 59 and it was the only one of real substance in the innings. Without it New Zealand would not have reached three figures with any comfort.

India’s chase and the par score

Shubman Gill went for a golden duck. Virat Kohli made 7. Rohit Sharma made 23 and Shreyas Iyer 30, and KL Rahul was 26 not out when play stopped. Jamieson and Duffy took three each and reduced the chase to a question of whether India could stay in front of the par figure rather than reach 135.

At 26 overs the par score was 109. India had 113. The margin was four runs, and the rain that had been threatening settled the match without either side finishing the job on the field.

Third ODI to come

India won the first match in Auckland by five wickets. The third ODI no longer decides the series. It does give India a look at a top order that lost Gill, Kohli and Rohit cheaply. Brar gets a chance to follow up the best figures of his one day career.

New Zealand have now lost two in a row at home. Mitchell was their only batter past fifty. Santner was the only other one past 30. The collapse to 53 for 5 is the number their selectors will look at first.

For India the result closes out a series away from home with a match still to play. The bowling has done the heavy lifting in both wins. The batting has not yet had to post a large total, and Wellington showed what happens when it is asked to chase a small one.