Trent Boult claimed a five-wicket haul as New Zealand thrashed India by eight wickets to claim a consolation win in the fourth One Day International at Seddon Park on Thursday. Ross Taylor scored an unbeaten knock of 37 runs and shared a match-winning 54-run stand with Henry Nicholls (30*) for the third-wicket after New Zealand bowled out India for paltry 92 runs in 30.5 overs. However, India are 3-1 up in the five-match ODI series. Rohit Sharma was leading the men-in-blue in his 200th ODI match and in the absence of talismanic skipper Virat Kohli.
Seven Indian batsmen were dismissed for single-digit scores, unable to tackle the moving ball.
It all started with Boult trapping Dhawan lbw with one that held its angle, beating his attempted flick. Boult then had Rohit chipping straight back in him next over, adding pressure on India’s middle order sans Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni.
Shubman Gill was given a debut in Kohli’s absence but there was little he could do as Boult took back the baton. Gill fell for nine, chipping a return catch like Rohit had done. Kedar Jadhav was soon trapped in front by one that swung in, as India slipped to 35 for 6. It became 40 for 7 when de Grandhomme got through Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s defence.
Boult bowled 10 consecutive overs, by the end of which, the game was sealed.
Bhuvneshwar dented New Zealand’s batting confidence a little with the wickets of Martin Guptill and Kane Williamson, but India’s bowlers had just way too little to defend, allowing Ross Taylor to have some fun in the company of Henry Nicholls.
