Kiwis win to keep ODI series alive
ranchi — New Zealand beat India by 19 runs in the fourth one-day international to level the five-match series at 2-2 as the hosts suffered a mid-innings collapse at Ranchi on Wednesday.
Chasing 261 for a series win, India were all out for 241 with eight balls to spare. This was India’s first loss at skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s home ground in all the interna- tional matches that they have played so far. Opener Ajinkya Rahane’s fluent 57 put India on course for the chase and the right-handed batsman added 79 for the second wicket with the in-form Virat Kohli (45).
India looked firmly in the driver’s seat when Rahane and captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (11) were batting but then they lost five wickets for just 39 runs which put paid to their hopes of bagging the series with a match to spare.
Seamer James Neesham dismissed Rahane and Dhoni in successive overs and paceman Tim Southee (3-40) picked up two wickets in consecutive deliveries as India were reduced from 128-2 to 167-7 in the space of a few overs. Axar Patel (38) and Amit Mishra (14) added 38 for the eighth wicket while tailenders Dhawal Kulkarni (25 not out) and Umesh Yadav added 34 for the last wicket to take India close but their efforts were not enough.
In pursuit of 261 on a pitch with variable bounce, India started off positively with Rahane returning to form in his 57 from 70 balls that had five fours and a six. He along with Kohli laid the foundation before the chase went disarray.
Under pressure Dhoni was slow off the blocks before Neesham accounted for both of them in successive
Guptill c Dhoni b Pandya Latham c Rahane b Patel Williamson c Dhoni b Mishra Taylor run out (Kulkarni/Dhoni) Neesham c Kohli b Mishra Watling c Sharma b Kulkarni Devcich c Pandya b Yadav Santner not out Southee not out
(lb4, w13) 1-96 (Latham), 2-138 (Guptill), 3-184 (Williamson), 4-192 (Neesham), 5-217 (Watling), 6-223 (Taylor), 7-242 (Devcich) Yadav 10-1-60-1 (3w), Kulkarni 7-0-59-1 (1w), Pandya 5-0-31-1 (8w), Mishra 10-0-41-2 (1w), Patel 10-0-38-1, Jadhav 8-0-27-0 T. Boult, I. Sodhi
overs. Once Pandey and Kedar were gone, India required 94 off 84 balls. Axar and Amit Mishra (14) revived their hopes in a 38 partnership from 37 balls. But Mishra was run out after a poor judgment as it was all but over for India. The match was interestingly poised for both the teams till Neesham got into the act. The spinners gave away 102 runs in their 24 overs and bowled 70 dots which is equivalent to 11.4 overs without runs.
Locked 2-2, the final one-dayer in Visakhapatnam October 29 will determine the winner of the fivematch series.
Earlier, openers Martin Guptill (72) and Tom Latham (39) gave New Zealand a brisk start after the visiting captain Kane Williamson won the toss and opted to bat on a slow surface.
The duo added 80 in the first 10 overs of fielding restrictions but Dhoni then brought on his spinners
Rahane lbw b Neesham Rohit c Watling b Southee Kohli c Watling b Sodhi Dhoni b Neesham Patel b Boult Pandey c Latham b Southee Jadhav lbw b Southee Pandya c Latham b Santner Mishra run out (Santner, Watling) Kulkarni not out Yadav c Taylor b Boult
(lb-3 w-9)
1-19 (Rohit), 2-98 (Kohli), 3-128 (Rahane), 4-135 (Dhoni), 5-154 (Pandey), 6-154 (Jadhav), 7-167 (Pandya), 8-205 (Mishra), 9-207 (Patel), 10-241 (Yadav)
Southee 9-0-40-3, Boult 9.4-148-2, Neesham 6-0-38-2, Santner 10-0-38-1, Sodhi 10-1-52-1, Devcich 4-0-22-0.
57 11 45 11 38 12 0 9 14 25 7 12
to restrict the flow of runs. Guptill and Latham added another 16 for their opening stand before the latter fell to left-arm spinner Patel midway through the 16th over.
Mishra made a diving effort but could not hold on to a chance from Guptill on 29 and the batsman had another life on 62 when the same fielder misjudged a chance in the deep and let the ball narrowly go over his head for a boundary.
Leg-spinner Mishra made amends by dismissing the dangerous Williamson (41) and Neesham in quick succession.
BJ Watling, who replaced Luke Ronchi behind the stumps, and Ross Taylor (35), who was run out by a superb back-handed flick by Dhoni, also fell in the space of an over to rob the momentum off New Zealand’s innings.
The two teams will now travel to Visakhapatnam for the series decider on Saturday. — Agencies