New Zealand bowled and fielded superbly to win the 4th ODI by 19 runs and level the ODI series 2-2. They will be heartened by fine innings from Martin Guptill and this bodes well for the last ODI. India are heavily dependent on Virat Kohli when chasing a tricky target, and with Dhoni promoting himself to the number 4 position, they rely a lot on the top order to do the bulk of the scoring. There is too much inexperience in the middle and lower order and that is an area of concern. The main difference between the two sides was in fielding as the Kiwis saved at least 20 runs in the field which proved to be vital in the end. Here is the complete match report.

New Zealand skipper, Kane Williamson won the toss for the 1st time on this tour and departed from the usual practice that India have been following in this ODI series. He elected to bat and packed his side with 3 spinners following a horses for courses policy as the wicket looked it would have low bounce and provide some assistance for the spinners.
Martin Guptill got the New Zealand off to a blazing start as he went after Dhawal Kulkarni and the Kiwi openers scored 16 runs off Kulkarni’s first over. Both the openers realised that the best time to go after the bowling was against the new ball as it would come on to the bat and they took advantage of the field restrictions. The Kiwis were 80 for no loss after 10 overs and Dhoni was forced to bring on his spinners a little earlier than normal to stem the run flow. New Zealand had hit 12 boundaries off the first 10 overs and their positive approach was refreshing to see.

Latham was the first to depart as he tried to sweep Axar Patel and was caught by Rahane at short fine leg. All the Indian spinners bowled well taking advantage of the slow nature of the wicket and New Zealand were unable to cash in like they had against the quicks in the first 10 overs. Guptill was in sublime form and played his best innings of the tour. However, he was dismissed when he tried to force Hardik Pandya through the off-side and was caught behind by Dhoni. He had done his job by giving the innings the required impetus and had scored 72 runs off 84 balls with 12 fours.

At the end of 35 overs the Kiwis were 184/2 and looked good for a total of around 300. However, for the umpteenth time on this tour they lost their way after a good start and could not capitalise. Off the 28 overs bowled by Axar Patel, Amit Mishra and Kedar Jadhav, they only conceded 107 runs and took 3 wickets. Kane Willimson and Ross Taylor scored 41 and 35 off 59 and 58 balls respectively but could not propel the Kiwis to the total that they looked like getting at the half way mark.

The Kiwis could muster just 61 runs off the last 10 overs and managed just 3 fours. Hardik Pandya bowled 5 overs and conceded 31 runs while claiming 1 wicket. Tim Southee scored an unbeaten 9 off 5 balls and hit Umesh Yadav for a boundary off the last ball to give a fillip to the New Zealand dressing room. New Zealand scored 260/7 off their 50 overs and the total looked competitive considering the state of the wicket.

In reply, India began cautiously and in the 4th over bowled by Trent Boult, Rohit struck him for 2 consecutive fours. The first ball off the 5th over was a perfect outswinger by Tim Southee which Rohit edged to Watling behind the stumps. Rohit had scored 11 of 19 balls with 2 fours. Kohli soon got into his stride, flicking Boult through mid-wicket for four. Ajinkya Rahane and Kohli put on 79 runs in a little over 15 overs before Kohli tried to cut a wide, short delivery from Ish Sodhi and was caught behind by Watling. Dhoni and Rahane put on 30 runs for the 3rd wicket but were unable to score at a brisk rate due to some tight bowling by the Kiwi spinners. James Neesham struck a couple of crucial blows for New Zealand when Rahane walked across his stumps and was adjudged LBW and Dhoni was bowled trying to work a delivery on the leg side.

Tim Southee was bowling brilliantly with some clever variations in pace and length. He dismissed Manish Pandey when Tom Latham pulled off a sensational catch leaping high at mid-on as the batsman looked to loft a slower delivery. Off the very next ball, Kedar Jadhav failed to pick another slower delivery from Southee and was plumb LBW. At that stage, India needed 107 runs off 105 balls with just 4 wickets in hand. Axar Patel played a fighting knock scoring 38 off 40 balls with 3 fours and a six before he was bowled by a yorker from Boult. The inexperience of the middle and lower order showed as India collapsed to 207/9 when Umesh Yadav joined Dhawal Kulkarni at the crease.

India needed 54 runs off 45 balls and it was asking too much of the last pair. However they batted valiantly and didn’t throw in the towel. Dhawal Kulkarni struck Ish Sodhi for a huge six over mid-off to give the Indian dressing room and the fans some hope. The pair put on 34 runs in 6.1 overs before Yadav was dismissed miscuing a slower ball from Boult into the hands of Taylor at extra cover. Tim Southee bowled 9 overs for 40 runs and picked up 3 wickets. New Zealand had won by 19 runs to level the series.

The 5th ODI is at Vizag on the 29th of October.