Wellington, November 7, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
India survived a dramatic batting collapse to defeat New Zealand by four runs under the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern (DLS) method in the rain-hit second ODI on Saturday. Persistent showers brought the contest to an early end with India at 113/7 after 26 overs in pursuit of 135.
India were marginally ahead of the DLS par score when rain forced the players off for the final time. The match had already been reduced to 47 overs per side following a one-hour delay at the start. New Zealand’s pace attack, however, made the chase difficult, with Jacob Duffy and Kyle Jamieson claiming three wickets each.
India’s innings suffered an immediate setback when captain Shubman Gill was dismissed for a golden duck in the opening over, edging Duffy to Henry Nicholls at second slip. Virat Kohli struck a trademark cover drive but departed for seven after mistiming a drive off Duffy, with Will Young taking the catch at cover-point.
Rohit Sharma managed 23 off 28 balls, including two boundaries and two sixes, before Jamieson had him caught by Nicholls. India were 40/3 after 11 overs. Axar Patel, promoted to No. 5, fell for seven after guiding Matthew Fisher’s delivery to Duffy at third man, leaving India at 47/4.
Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul attempted to stabilise the innings with a 39-run partnership for the fifth wicket. Iyer scored 30 off 46 balls, including four boundaries and a six, before Jamieson dismissed him with a short, in-seaming delivery that he fended towards Tom Latham.
Rahul then tried to revive the chase, while Naman Dhir contributed 12 off 16 balls. Duffy removed Dhir with a short delivery that was pulled to Tim Seifert at deep backward square leg. Jamieson subsequently dismissed Anshul Kamboj, who edged an attempted cross-batted shot to Duffy at third man.
India were 113/7 after 26 overs, with Rahul unbeaten on 26 and Auqib Nabi on one when rain returned. The visitors were three runs ahead of the DLS par score at that stage. Despite efforts by ground staff to prepare the field for a possible resumption, the weather did not improve. The match was eventually called off at 23:00 local time, giving India a four-run victory under the DLS method.
Earlier, India’s bowlers had restricted New Zealand to 134 in 41 overs, with Gurnoor Brar producing a career-best four-wicket haul. Auqib Nabi and Anshul Kamboj struck early to reduce the hosts to 23/3 before Brar dismissed Tom Latham and Glenn Phillips in the same over, leaving New Zealand struggling at 53/5.
Daryl Mitchell’s 55 off 104 balls and Mitchell Santner’s 31 provided resistance through a 59-run sixth-wicket partnership. Brar broke the stand by dismissing Santner and later returned to remove Nathan Smith. Axar Patel claimed two wickets, while Kamboj bowled Blair Tickner to wrap up New Zealand’s innings.
Brief Scores: New Zealand 134 all out in 41 overs (Daryl Mitchell 55, Mitchell Santner 31; Gurnoor Brar 4/30, Anshul Kamboj 2/25) lost to India 113/7 in 26 overs (Shreyas Iyer 30, KL Rahul 26 not out; Jacob Duffy 3/35, Kyle Jamieson 3/35) by four runs via DLS.
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