Sportstar·India·Saturday, November 14, 2026 at 08:13 AM UTC

IND vs NZ, 5th ODI: Indian batters look for answers against seaming ball

Translate

PTI

The Indian batters came a cropper in seaming conditions with Matt Henry effectively sealing the game for his team in his opening over by striking thrice. India needs to get better on pace friendly surfaces as it could get similar conditions in the 2027 ODI World Cup in South Africa.

Updated : Nov 14, 2026 13:43 IST , Mount Maunganui - 3 MINS READ

India was bundled out for 89 in the fourth ODI after 333 runs in the first innings against New Zealand. | Photo Credit: AFP

India was bundled out for 89 in the fourth ODI after 333 runs in the first innings against New Zealand. | Photo Credit: AFP

Indian batters would be determined to put up a much-improved performance against the seaming ball with the series at stake in the fifth and final ODI against New Zealand here on Sunday.

India leads the series 2-1 despite its second heaviest loss in ODIs here on Friday.

The Indian batters came a cropper in seaming conditions with Matt Henry effectively sealing the game for his team in his opening over by striking thrice. India needs to get better on pace friendly surfaces as it could get similar conditions in the 2027 ODI World Cup in South Africa.

Considering the collective failure of the batting line-up, it would not be fair to single out an individual. Having said that, Rohit Sharma and Shreyas Iyer, who had a forgettable captaincy debut, are yet to make an impact in the five-match series.

Also read | Gurnoor Brar added to India Test squad for New Zealand series; Kuldeep released

While Henry squared Rohit up with a beauty, Iyer was caught in the crease against a sharp incoming delivery.

For one format players Rohit and Virat Kohli, the game presents a final opportunity to enthral the crowd on probably their last tour of New Zealand. Kohli too had no response to Henry’s magic on Friday night.

The team collapsing to 89 all out in 26.4 overs while chasing 334 did not go down well with head coach Gautam Gambhir.

“These are conditions which are going to be closest to what we might get during the World Cup. The bigger concern is not the runs. It’s how quickly we got bundled out, around 26 or 27 overs. That is something which is always a concern,” said Gambhir.

Captain Iyer said conditions changed drastically in favour of the bowlers in the second innings but there was a stark difference in the PowerPlay performance of pacers on either side.

While New Zealand reduced India to nine for four in the sixth over, the Indian pacers were not able to make inroads in the opening powerplay. Gurnoor Brar went for runs and so did Auqib Nabi, though they did take a couple of wickets each.

Playing his first game of the series, Kuldeep Yadav was taken to the cleaners by Will Young. Kuldeep, who has hardly got game time on the tour, would be desperate to make an impact if he gets to play again.

Released from the Test squad, the left-arm wrist spinner would love to leave New Zealand shores with a performance of repute.

New Zealand, on the other hand, finds itself in another must-win situation as it aims to draw the series.

Opener Tim Seifert may have resurrected his career with a fifty in the fourth ODI, while Young, who was dropped twice in the slip cordon, went on to make a fine hundred.

The Indian pacers will need to stop the openers from taking the game away from them in the first 10 overs.

It remains to be seen if uncapped Brett Randell gets a game at the Bay Oval.

New Zealand has not lost a series at home in seven years and therefore will have plenty to play for against a wounded yet formidable opponent.

Published on Nov 14, 2026

Latest on Sportstar

View the original on Sportstar →

KioskNews shows a cleaned-up reading view extracted from the publisher’s page — the original always lives on their site, not ours.