India vs New Zealand Live Score 1st ODI: Bracewell, Santner frustrate IND, keep NZ in hunt in 350-run chase

0 Wd 4 Wd Wd Wd 4 0 1 4 – Thakur concedes 17 runs in his over as NZ move to 231/6 in 39 overs.

Shardul Thakur bowls a barrage of wide balls before he is hit for another four by Bracewell. NZ: 226/6 (38.4 overs) 

Bracewell continues his attack as he hits Kuldeep Yadav for an outrageous six. Nine runs come off his over as NZ reach 214/6 in 38 overs.    

He continues the same in the next over by Thakur as he hits him for a four. NZ: 220/6 (38.2 overs)

Shardul Thakur is reintroduced in the attack and Bracewell hits the seamer for a four, follows it up with a six and then hits another boundary. The next delivery is a wide. NZ: 203/6 (36.3 overs) 

Kuldeep Yadav is reintroduced into the attack but the boundaries keep coming. Kuldeep pitches it slightly short allowing Bracewell with enough time to cut it square of the wicket for another four. NZ: 188/6 (36 overs)

Santner welcomes Hardik Pandya with a boundary, as he cuts a length ball square of the wicket. Unfortunate for the bowler as it goes just wide of the point fielder and races towards the fence. 

Bracewell then hits Pandya for another four in the second last ball of his over. He bangs it short and the batter pulls it towards the fine leg region for a boundary. NZ: 183/6 (35 overs)

Mitchell Santner hits Hardik Pandya for consecutive fours as NZ move to 162/6 in 33 overs. He then starts the next over with a six against Washington Sundar. NZ: 170/6 (33.3 overs)

The boundaries have started coming for New Zealand as Bracewell hits Sundar for two boundaries in his over. New Zealand move past 150. NZ: 153/6 (32 overs)

Siraj concedes a couple of singles in the first four balls before bowling it short, which is punched away for a boundary by Bracewell. NZ: 141/6 (31 overs)

Washington Sundar keeps thing tight as he concedes just three runs in his over. NZ: 134/6 (30 overs)

Short from Siraj, Latham had to go for the pull, the scoreboard pressure is very much on the Kiwis now and he is cauight at deep midwicket. 

Latham c Washington Sundar b Mohammed Siraj 24 (46), New Zealand 131/6 in 28.4 overs

It seems the fast bowler is cramping up as he gets ready to bowl the second ball of the 29th over. New Zealand are 131/5. 

Washington Sundar and Mohammed Shami have been keeping it tight and the batters have hardly got anything to score from. Phillips sees a length ball and tries to manufacture a big shot, it seems back in and rattles his stumps. 

Phillips b Mohammed Shami 11 (20), New Zealand 110/5 in 24.3 overs

The required rate has clambered over 9 now. Mohammed Shami has returned, turns out his injury wasn’t so bad after all. He bowls the 25th. 

New Zealand need 254 to win off 186 balls. They now need a proper big innings from someone, something like what Gill did earlier. Those innings don’t come everyday but it is what New Zealand need now. 

Shout for LBW, umpire raises the finger and Mitchell reviews it. Looked utterly plumb, Mitchell goes back against this flat delivery but it pitches on a good length, turns and beats the bat quite comprehensively. That was smashing into middle stump, New Zealand lose a review. 

Mitchell lbw b Kuldeep Yadav 9 (12), New Zealand 89/4 in 17.4 overs

Well, remember Pandya being dismissed despite the bails being whipped off by Latham’s gloves and not the ball? It seems India had decided to get back at Latham/on-field/third umpire, it’s unclear whom the joke is directed towards. The bails fall off and India appeal for hit-wicket. Replays show that it was wicketkeeper Ishan Kishan who had knocked off the bails with his gloves quite purposely and the player was nowhere in the picture. Kishan is then shown laughing and on-air commentators Murali Karthik and Sunil Gavaskar squarely slam India for that little circus. Wonder what Rohit Sharma, who had repealed an appeal for run-out at the non-striker’s end in the second ODI against Sri Lanka, has to say about this little stunt.  

He managed a four with a big sweep off the previous ball and then, Kuldeep bamboozles him with the googly. Kuldeep sends it in short, Nicholls rock back but is then utterly perplexed by the turn back in. Nicholls b Kuldeep Yadav 18 (31), New Zealand 78/3 in 15.3 overs

Shami is still sitting in the dugout with a bandaged hand. He may never bowl another delivery today. Meanwhile, New Zealand are 74/2 in 15 overs. 

Of course it is Shardul Thakur who breaks this dangerous looking partnership. Bowls it short and surprises Allen, he goes for the pull shot and substitute fielder Shahbaz Ahmed takes an excellent diving catch running in from deep midwicket.  

Allen c sub (Shahbaz Ahmed) b Thakur 40 (39), New Zealand 70/2 in 13 overs

Short again and the umpires take a while to decide if this was the flattest of sixes or a four. It’s decided that it was a four. Not quite smart from Pandya, he just kept bowling short doggedly and this could be the over that gets New Zealand going. NZ 62/1 in 11 overs. 

He continues serving the short stuff and Allen continues to dish on it. This one is pulled in front of deep square leg. 

Pandya continues to bowl short and Allen says thank you all the way. First he pulls the India all-rounder to square leg. Then he hooks Pandya over fine leg for a six off the second last ball of the 11th over. 

Now New Zealand get a move on. Two fours in the 10th over from Henry Nicholls to get them within 10 runs of where India were at this point. 

Well India are applying the chokehold here. The next over from Siraj is also a maiden. 350 is no small target and if New Zealand don’t get going they can start feeling the scoreboard pressure pretty quickly here. They are 28/1 in 8 overs. 

That over from Siraj was a wicket maiden and the next one bowled by Shami is also a maiden. However, Shami has been hurt by a catch effort he made off the last ball. Henry Nicholls smashed the last ball down the ground, in the air at shoulder height for Shami. He sticks his hand out so in a way it’s a dropped catch, although considering it that in reality would be discounting a few things, chief of which would be that Shami has human hands and not a fishing net in their place. He walks off with an ice pack on his fingers, time will tell how serious this is. 

Well that wicket has been constructed carefully by Siraj. He got three balls to seam away from him. Then he got one to beat Conway, had a little chat with him as well after that and then a short one that Conway tries to pull. He ends up getting a top edge and is caught at fine leg. 

Conway c Kuldeep Yadav b Mohammed Siraj 10 (16), New Zealand 28/1 in 5.4 overs

Shami drifting on to the pads and Allen tucks it away. Anything on leg has gone for four so far. Allen and Conway have been among the most dangerous opening pairs in the world and so India have their jobs cut out here. 

Allen edged the third delivery over second slip and the ball ran away to the boundary. Those were the only runs that came in the over. Mohammed Siraj comes in to bowl the second over at his home ground.

Mohammed Shami has the ball in his hands for India. Finn Allen is facing up for New Zealand with Devon Conway at the other end. 

That was good fun, amazing atmosphere here with all the crowd. They batted nicely. The way Gill batted was special. At the same time, if we can set a platform, build some partnerships and take it deep, you never know what can happen. (On Gill’s knock) Very special, to get a double century in one-dayers is pretty cool. For me, with the ball, it’s awesome to do a role for the team and bring some energy. If you bowl in the right areas, there’s a little bit of hold and a little bit of extra bounce. For us, it’s about getting ourselves in, putting some pressure on the opposition.

Well the first ball of the 49th over was not the greatest from Ferguson, he sent it down the leg side at 140kph and Gill flicked it with the angle over the fine leg boundary for a six. The next ball is full and Gill sent it straight back over long-off. The third ball also disappeared straight down the ground and Gill took off his helmet and screamed in celebration. He was all anger initially, then he hugged Kuldeep Yadav and then calmly bowed to the crowd all around. Getting a double century in ODIs is always ridiculous, getting there with a hat-trick of sixes after playing through the innings is just a major boss move. 

Well guess what Glenn Phillips right after taking that catch. He dropped a much easier one, that’s what he did. This innings has pretty much been all about Shubman Gill. No other player, save maybe for Rohit Sharma or Suryakumar before they got out, looked even half as assured as him for such a long time. The list of records he has set is quite a long one and we will look at those in a while. For now, just let this soak in, the second highest score after Gill’s 208 off 149 balls in this innings, was Rohit Sharma’s 34. Kishan got into the conversation for that opener’s slot with a double century, Gill was still kept ahead and now he has scored a double ton himself. A generational talent has cemented his spot in the Indian ODI team today. 

Excellent catch from Glenn Phillips and that is what it took to end this innings. Gill pulls it to deep midwicket, Phillips comes running in and dives to complete the catch. Applause all around for Gill, an number of New Zealand players walk up to congratulate him. One of the greatest ODI innings of all time has come to an end.   

Gill smashes the first ball of the last over straight back over the bowler’s head. There is a fielder there but who cares, Gill certainly doesn’t. 

That is how you do it. Three sixes off the first three balls of the 49th over and Gill scores a double century in just 145 balls. 

This is what India needed. This is what Gill needed. He is certainly back in play for reaching that double century now. 

A dot ball and then Tickner sends one in nicely in the arc for Gill. He sends that soaring over square leg. India get to 316/7 in 47.4 overs, Gill is on 181 off 130. What an innings. 

He sends that over long-on for a maximum and Gill has reached 175. Highest score in an ODI on this ground. 

Safe to say that the double century may not quite be happening for Gill today but there are still three overs left for India. If they can get to something close to 350, New Zealand will have a bit too much of a mountain to climb.  

Gill goes for the run after tapping a full ball to cover. Thakur was not looking at his partner and the two players end up at the same end. Thakur walks out before Latham takes the bails off and that is that for him. 

It has been 23 deliveries since the last boundary. New Zealand are throwing themselves around at the boundaries so as to stop Gill from finding the boundary. 

He has largely tried to give Gill strike and is struck in front. Sundar takes the review but it is more in hope than anything else. There is no bat on it and he looked plumb enough, ball-tracking confirms it. The more worrisome thing for India would be that the boundaries have dried up. Sundar lbw b Shipley 12 (14), India 292/6 in 45 overs.

Oh that’s a monster six. What a way to bring up the milestone. He sends Bracewell soaring over wide long-on for a maximum and gets to 153 off 122 balls. There is still 8 overs to go, he couldn’t get to 200, could he? Whether he does or no, this has been a monumental innings from him. India are 279/5 after 43 overs.

Latham’s gloves are on a roll. Gill cuts Bracewell’s delivery square and goes for the run but the bails are somehow on the ground at the striker’s end. Umpire sends it upstairs once again, as it turns out, Latham had knocked off the bails again. Only this time it is not given out. Still no clarity on how on earth Pandya was given out. 

Well what just happened there? It initially looked like Pandya had chopped on. Umpire sends it upstairs. Pandya had tried to help the ball fine but the replays show that he missed it entirely and it was in fact wicketkeeper Tom Latham’s gloves that knocked off the bails maybe a millisecond before he gathered the ball. The ball didn’t hit the stumps at all. One would have thought that this won’t be given as out but it was by the third umpire. Quite a strange decision, maybe we will get more information on that later but Pandya walks back without any arguments. 

Hardik Pandya b Mitchell 28 (38), India 249/5 in 39.4 overs

Pandya tries to leave a short ball from Ferguson but can’t quite get out of the way. The ball takes the edge of the bat and flies straight over the wicketkeeper into the vacant third man region for a four. It’s all going India’s way at the moment. 

Rub some salt and chillie powder into the wound does Shubman Gill. He leans into the ball outside off stump and sends it careening through covers for a boundary. 

It would have been an extraordinary catch if it was taken but then one needs to hold on to these to get exceptional batters out. Gill chipped it back to the bowler. It came back very quickly, Shipley sticks out a hand in his follow up but can’t really make it stick. 

Short and quick from Ferguson angling in from outside off stump, Pandya rocks back and uper cuts it wide of deep third. 

Well some nice words exchanged between Shipley and Gill after latter takes a single so no fireworks there. Shipley and Gill are hardly the fiery characters that Johnson and Kohli used to be back then so, no surprises there. However, Gill is looking unbeatable at the moment, just as Kohli did back in that Test match, he is on 120 off 101 balls. 

Gill hits one straight back at the big fast bowler, he collects it and throws straight at the stumps at the striker’s end. It clocks Gill on the leg and Shipley puts up a hand to apologise, although it is a rather brief one and he just walks back to his mark while Gill limps around trying to shake off the pain. Wonder if this will result in something similar to what happened when Mitchell Johnson hit Virat Kohli in a similar fashion all those years back in a Test match in Adelaide. 

Gill has moved to 113 off 97, Pandya on 13 off 25. This partnership has given India some stability back. 

Pandya edges the first ball of Shipley’s over and it runs through the empty slips and third man region for a boundary. 

Full on the stumps from Tickner for the third ball of the 33rd over and Gill flicks it wide of mid-on. He has got to 1000 ODI runs faster than any Indian before him and is the second fastest overall to get there after Pakistan’s Fakhar Zaman. 

He converts a half volley from Santner into a full toss by dancing down the track and whacks it past deep cover for four. Moves to 105 off 90 and he is now on 999 career runs in ODIs.  

A six and a single does the job for Gill. His second consecutive ODI ton and his third overall. He has got there in just 87 balls. Despite all the wickets falling at the other end, Gill has never really looked fazed by anything today, hardly ever gave New Zealand any clear chances despite his aggressive approach. 

Well, that has come against the run of play. Suryakumar chips it straight to covers and that ends a partnership which brought 65 runs off 53 balls. Suryakumar won’t be too happy with that one, a lose dismissal. 

Suryakumar Yadav c Santner b Mitchell 31 (26), India 175/4 in 28.3 overs

Not a great ball from Santner, short and in the arc and Gill rocks back to pull it over mid-wicket.

A close call for SKY off the last ball of the 27th over. Daryl Mitchell got an outside edge off him but no catch followed and the batters took a run.

Partnership between these two is on 44 off 31. At the same time, there hasn’t been any undue risks taken by either of these two batters, which is extraordinary. Gill on 78 off 71, SKY is on 24 off 17. 

This partnership has raced to 28 off 22 balls but run rate hasn’t really been a problem for India thus far in this match. They would hope that these two can stick around for a long time. 

Third boundary from Suryakumar and all three have been markedly different from the flashy stuff we see in T20s. Here, he hits the ball almost through the legs of the midwicket fielder.  

Ferguson goes a but too full and Suryakumar just caresses’ it down the ground past the bowler for a boundary.  

Suryakumar Yadav will have to play a little differently from his slap bang T20 approach. India need a strong stand that can last at least 10 overs here. Gill has been looking in good touch and has held up the team’s run rate. He has scored 64 in 60, SKY is on six off four. 

SKY punches the last delivery of Ferguson’s over through cover and point to get off the mark.

Edged and gone. This is a worrying pattern for India, they have not been able to quite get a partnership going after that opening stand.  

Kishan c Latham b Ferguson 5 (14), India 110/3 in 19.4 overs

What a way to get there! His sixth ODI fifty. He gets the slog sweep out against Michael Bracewell and it sails into the stands. 

Well Ishan Kishan is Shubman Gill’s challenger for that opener’s slot but he will now be looking to put up a strong stand with him here. India need that to happen so as to go the full 50 overs and put up a competitive total. 

Kohli can’t quite believe what just happened, neither can most of the ground. Sunil Gavaskar says in the commentary box that he should have played this on the front foot. He instead goes back to defend it, ends up being susceptible to the turn and Santner manages to hit the top of off. Kohli b Santner 8 (10), India 88/2 in 15.2 overs

Gill goes over midwicket for the fourth ball of the 15th over. Then he smashes Shipley over mid-on for his 10th boundary of the innings. 

Too wide and full from Shipley, Kohli reaches for it and creams it through covers for his first boundary of the match. 

Gill has decided to go after Mitchell Santner. He gets down the track and flays the ball past the bowler to the boundary. India are 75/1 after 14 overs, Gill on 33 off 40, Kohli on 3 off 6. 

It may have been Rohit Sharma who got out but there were big cheers from the crowd as Virat Kohli walked in. He got off the mark with a single and New Zealand would know that he is the priority at the moment. The former Indian captain comes into this match after scoring three centuries in his last four innings. 

Rohit skies an attempted big shot and it is Tickner who gets the breakthrough for New Zealand. Tickner sends it in at a length but it doesn’t come on to the bat quite like how Rohit would have wanted it. 

Rohit Sharma c Mitchell b Tickner 34 (38), India 60/1 in 12.1 overs

Rohit on 34 off 37, Gill on 22 off 35. It is looking quite good for India, they are doing a good job dealing with the variety of pace from Santner. 

Slower ball from Tickner, Rohit picks it up easily and lofts it over mid-off for anotheer boundary. The Indian captain is looking quite good today…

The second of those takes India past the 50-run mark. Shubman Gill is the batter, Blair Tickner the bowler. The second ball of the ninth over is short and Gill pulls it through midwicket. Then he pulls again, this time in the air, for the second boundary. 

This is not exactly a pitch where runs will flow easy but Rohit and Gill look as comfortable as anyone can thus far. New Zealand will be made to work to get a wicket here. 

All indications of another strong opening stand developing between these two. The only miscued shot came from Gill, who tried a cut shot but it ended up taking a top edge and jumped well above the wicketkeeper to the boundary. Apart from that, these two have been flawless. 

Full and wide from Shipley, Rohit’s timing on his lofted drive is so good it ends up clearing the boundary itself. First six of the innings.

Short outside off from Ferguson, Gill cuts it away for four and gets off the mark with a boundary. Cannot be bowling there to a man in form. 

The last ball is a rather slow full toss right on the off stump. A freebie and Rohit sent it through covers for a four.

Here we go then. Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma walk out, the towering Henry Shipley has the ball in his hands for New Zealand.  

The New Zealand national anthem comes first and then the Indian. Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma padded up of course. 

I have always loved playing this format as well. I’m looking to do well. Nothing changes, intent and energy remains the same. I try and play situations, whatever situation I’m playing at. Whatever the team demands, I go through the motions. It (getting crowd ovation) is nice, the recognition but you have to remember what you did to get all this, so I try to remain the same.

While the rest of the inclusions are not surprising, Shardul Thakur’s inclusion is. One would have thought that he is completely out of contention for the 2023 World Cup now that Hardik Pandya is back but today, both of them play. 

Finn Allen, Devon Conway, Henry Nicholls, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham(w/c), Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, Henry Shipley, Mitchell Santner, Lockie Ferguson, Blair Tickner

Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Ishan Kishan(w), Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami

“We will bat first. Looks a good pitch, little dry. We want to make sure we want to bowl under lights and defend score. We did well against Sri Lanka, but this is a different challenge. Important for us to keep the momentum going. The spirit in the team is really good. Three changes. Hardik is back, Shardul is back. SKY and Ishan are playing as well.”

India win toss, choose to bat first. Big cheers as Rohit Sharma says that Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan will play. 

He is on 46 centuries, needs three more to equal Sachin Tendulkar’s record and there are three matches in this series. Back when Tendulkar had got there it looked like no other player will ever repeat that feat but here we are. Virat Kohli is on 259 ODI innings while Tendulkar had got to 49 in 452 so that is how quick the 34-year-old has been.

New Zealand’s win in Pakistan was quite an impressive one. They looked pretty down and out towards the end of the first ODI, which they lost by six wickets. But then they came roaring back by beating Pakistan by 79 runs in the second ODI and then won the series with a two-wicket in the third ODI. 

Not Suryakumar Yadav, the real sky. It is nice and blue in Hyderabad, absolutely no chance of a rain interruption. 

New Zealand have decided to rest Kane Williamson and Tim Southee, their two seniormost players, for this series. It is quite a packed calendar for the players with the World Cup coming around later this year and the last thing New Zealand would want is these two players breaking down by the end of the year. 

A penny for Ishan Kishan’s thoughts. In any other country, scoring a record double century in ODIs would guarantee a spot for you in the team for at least a year. In his case though, he has to contend with the extremely consistent Shubman Gill in the opening spot and if he has to fit into the middle order, he has to get ahead of Shreyas Iyer or KL Rahul. Now that Rahul is not here though, there is the chance that the extraordinary Suryakumar Yadav could be given a run there. If that happens, there are not many arguments that can be made against that, SKY has been the best T20 batter in the world by some distance over more than a year, with maybe Jos Buttler coming close to him. It is only fair that he is given a chance to show what he can do in ODIs and if he can replicate that form, it is not just about him making the position his own, India’s chances of winning the 2023 World Cup gets a major boost. 

Finn Allen, Devon Conway, Henry Nicholls, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham(w/c), Michael Bracewell, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Lockie Ferguson, Blair Tickner, Jacob Duffy, Doug Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Henry Shipley

Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan(w), Hardik Pandya, Washington Sundar, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umran Malik, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Shardul Thakur, Srikar Bharat, Shahbaz Ahmed, Rajat Patidar

Kishan could have the chance to prove himself though. KL Rahul is missing this series for personal reasons and there has been a last minute injury to Shreyas Iyer. It could be Kishan who takes his place at No.5. It is quite different from an opening slot but not as different in ODIs as it tends to be in T20Is. 

There were a few raised eyebrows when India made it clear that they prefer Shubman Gill over Ishan Kishan, despite the fact that the latter’s last ODI innings was the fastest double century in the format. However, Gill’s consistent performances in the Sri Lanka series, which includes his second ODI century, showed why the team has put their trust in him. 

India struck a lot of good notes during their recent series win over Sri Lanka. Mohammed Siraj showed that he is as potent a weapon as any in ODI cricket, KL Rahul showed his value at No.5, Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill seem to have formed a strong opening partnership and of course, the talismanic Virat Kohli is back amongst the centuries. New Zealand are a different kind of challenge compared to Sri Lanka though, and the Kiwis will be looking at this series as a valuable way to gain some match time in these conditions ahead of the 2023 World Cup which will be hosted in India.