India moved 2-0 ahead in the five-match ODI series after rain handed them a four-run win over New Zealand in Wellington on Saturday. India were 113 for 7 in 26 overs when showers ended play, four runs ahead of the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern par score of 109.
Morning rain had already cut the game to 47 overs per side. The wet pitch then made batting hard all day, and both teams struggled to score. In the end, a small gap of four runs decided a match that neither side could finish.
Brar Four Wickets Sink New Zealand for 134
Shubman Gill won the toss and chose to bowl first, and his fast bowlers made full use of the damp, bouncy pitch. New Zealand lost early wickets and never found a steady rhythm.
Gurnoor Brar led the attack with career-best figures of 4 for 30. His key moment came in the 20th over, when he removed Tom Latham and Glenn Phillips in quick succession and left New Zealand at 53 for 5. Daryl Mitchell fought back with 55, and captain Mitchell Santner added 31, but no other home batter scored more than 11. The pair shared 59 runs for the sixth wicket, the only real stand of the innings.
Auqib Nabi took 2 for 31, the first two wickets of his international career, removing openers Will Young and Tim Seifert. Anshul Kamboj took 2 for 25 and Axar Patel took 2 for 28 as New Zealand were bowled out for 134 in 41 overs. Blair Tickner also suffered concussion after a bouncer from Kamboj, and Matt Fisher came into the side as his replacement.
Mitchell summed up the pitch after the game, saying batting felt like “batting on a trampoline” because of the steep and uneven bounce. Only 247 runs were scored in the whole match, and 15 wickets fell, a rare low-scoring game in an era of big ODI totals.
India Chase Wobbles Before Rain Ends Match
India’s chase of 135 started badly. Jacob Duffy removed captain Gill for a golden duck and then dismissed Virat Kohli for 7. Rohit Sharma made 23 before India slipped to 47 for 4, and the chase was in real trouble.
Shreyas Iyer steadied the innings with 30, and KL Rahul stayed calm at the other end. But Kyle Jamieson removed Iyer for 30 with a sharp bouncer, and Duffy and Jamieson finished with 3 for 35 each. By the time Anshul Kamboj fell in what proved to be the last over, India were 113 for 7, with Rahul unbeaten on 26.
India had scored 78 of their 113 runs in boundaries, a sign of how hard it was to work the ball around for singles on such a tricky surface. Then the rain returned, heavier than before, and play could not resume before the 11pm local cut-off time.
DLS Rule Decides Four-Run Win
When rain stops a limited-overs match, the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method, known as DLS, decides the result. It works out a fair par score based on how many runs a team should have made at that point, given the wickets lost and overs left.
At the moment play stopped, the par score was 109. India had 113, four runs more than par, so they were declared winners by four runs. It was a narrow escape: one more wicket, or a few runs less, and the result would have gone the other way.
What Win Means for ODI Series
India now need only one more win to take the series, with three matches still to play. The third ODI is in Hamilton on Tuesday, 10 November. For New Zealand, the task is now clear and hard: they must win all three remaining games to avoid a series defeat at home.
The win also showed the strength of India’s young pace attack. Brar, Nabi and Kamboj bowled with pace and discipline on a helpful pitch, and they defended a small total almost to the end. But the batting will worry India. The top order failed again, and the middle order had to rescue the chase for the second match in a row.
India won the first ODI in Auckland on Wednesday by five wickets, after bowling New Zealand out for 185. Two wins in two games have put them in control, yet both games have been close. If the Hamilton pitch offers similar help to bowlers, the next match could be just as tight.
| Innings | Score | Top scorer | Best bowling |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Zealand | 134 all out, 41 overs | Daryl Mitchell 55 | Gurnoor Brar 4-30 |
| India | 113-7, 26 overs | Shreyas Iyer 30, KL Rahul 26 not out | Jacob Duffy 3-35, Kyle Jamieson 3-35 |
| Result | India won by 4 runs (DLS method) | Series: India lead 2-0 | Player of match: Gurnoor Brar |
Rain ended the match with India on 113 for 7 in 26 overs. Under the DLS method, the par score at that point was 109. India were four runs ahead of par, so they won by four runs.
Gurnoor Brar won the award for his career-best figures of 4 for 30, including two wickets in one over that left New Zealand at 53 for 5.
The third ODI is in Hamilton on Tuesday, 10 November 2026. India need one more win to seal the five-match series.
