Ind vs NZ 1st ODI: Latham-Taylor cruise Kiwis to 6-wicket win

Mumbai: An amazing 200-run fourth-wicket partnership between Ross Taylor and Tom Latham easily saw New Zealand home against India, winning first of the three One-Day Internationals (ODIs) by 6 wickets at the Wankhede Stadium here on Sunday.

The Kiwis successfully chased down a big target of 281 runs with 6 balls remaining, as Latham and Taylor both played amazing innings, leaving the Indian bowlers in severe frustration.

Latham remained unbeaten at 103 off 102 deliveries and decorated his inning with 8 fours and 2 sixes, while Taylor, though got out when his team required just 1 run to win, missed out on a deserving hundred. He scored 95 runs off 100 balls with 8 boundaries.

India got its first success in form of Colin Munro (28 off 35, 3 fours, 1 six) when New Zealand was at 48 runs in 9.3 overs. Soon, skipper Kane Williamson was also sent back at the individual score of 6 runs off 8 balls. The other opener Martin Guptill also lost his wicket in no time when he was batting at 32 runs off 48 balls, with 5 fours.

India looked in good condition for some time as they had managed to restrict the Islanders to 80/3 in 17.2 overs with 201 more runs required. But Latham and Taylor were in no mood to give away the momentum as they batted very sensibly against the pacers and the spinners, both, to win the first match for their team.

It looked to be a wakeup call for Indian selectors as Yuzvendra Chahal looked shot of ideas when Latham and Taylor were consistently sweeping him efficiently. Latham was also named player of the match for his gritty performance.

Also Read: Virat Kohli surpasses Ricky Ponting with 31st ODI hundred

Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav and Hardik Pandya picked up a wicket each and went for 56, 56 and 64 and 46 runs, respectively.

With this convincing victory, New Zealand has taken 1-0 lead in the three-match ODI series.

Earlier, with the help of a brilliant hundred by skipper Virat Kohli and slog-over blitz by Bhuvneshwar Kumar, India had managed to pile up a big score of 280/8.

Kohli (121 off 125, 9 fours, 2 sixes), who is playing his 200th ODI, brought up his 31st ton to guide his side to a challenging total. He also surpassed former Australian great Ricky Ponting (30 centuries in 375 ODIs).

Opener Rohit Sharma was looking at his belligerent best as he smashed 2 sixes in his 20 runs which came off only 12 balls, but failed to last long. His opening partner Shikhar Dhawan also departed cheaply after adding 9 runs off 12 balls.

Kedar Jadhav, who was given yet another chance, failed to impress again as he got out at the individual score of 12 runs off 25 balls. Middle-order batsman Dinesh Karthik (37), making his comeback into the side, also played an important knock.

Also Read: Ind vs NZ 1st ODI: Virat Kohli’s masterclass powers India to 280/8

MS Dhoni also tried to consolidate the inning but could only score 25 runs off 42 balls with 2 boundaries. He misplaced a cut shot into the safe hands of Martin Guptill waiting for the opportunity at the back-foot point region.

Hardik Pandya scored 16 runs off 16 balls with a four and a humongous six. Then came Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who played one of the most important knocks for India as he scored 26 runs off 15 balls with 2 fours and 2 sixes. He belligerence helped India post a score as big as 280 runs in allotted 50 overs.

Trent Boult was the pick of the bowlers as he bagged 4 fours wickets and conceded mere 35 runs and also bowled a maiden. Tim Southee also plucked three wickets but was hit for 73 runs in his 10 overs.

Mitchell Santner also managed one success in his 10 overs giving away 41 runs.