India won the second India vs New Zealand ODI by 4 runs using the DLS method. The match was played in Wellington on Saturday. It was a thrilling game with several rain delays. India are now 2-0 up in the five-match series.
New Zealand batted first and were bowled out for 134. India’s fast bowlers did the damage again. Gurnoor Brar was the best with 4 wickets. Auqib Nabi, Anshul Kamboj and Axar Patel took two each. Daryl Mitchell fought hard for New Zealand with 55. Captain Mitchell Santner made 31. Shubman Gill won the toss and chose to field in a match reduced to 47 overs because of rain.
India’s chase started badly. Gill was out for a duck in the second ball. Virat Kohli made just 7. At 17 for 2, India were in trouble. Rohit Sharma made 23. Shreyas Iyer made 30. KL Rahul held the innings together with 26 not out. Naman Dhir made 12. Axar Patel made 7. India reached 113 for 7 in 26 overs when the rain came back. That put them 4 runs ahead of the DLS par score, which was 109.
The match was on the edge for a long time. The rain stopped and started again. The cut-off time was set at 11 PM local time. The match was so close that if play had resumed, New Zealand would have had a chance. Kyle Jamieson and Jacob Duffy took three wickets each for New Zealand. But the rain never let the game restart. The match was finally called off, and India won by 4 runs on DLS. India go 2-0 up with three games left.
Gurnoor Brar Enters Record Books With Brilliant 4/30 During India vs New Zealand 2nd ODI
Gurnoor Brar took 4 for 30 during the India vs New Zealand 2nd ODI in Wellington. That was his best ODI figures so far. It was also the third-best spell by an Indian bowler against New Zealand in New Zealand. Only Anil Kumble and Javagal Srinath have done better there. Kumble took 5 for 33 at the Basin Reserve in 1994. Srinath took 4 for 23 at Eden Park on Boxing Day in 2002. Brar did his work at Wellington Regional Stadium.
Less than four months earlier, England had taken 97 runs off his 10 overs at Lord’s without losing a wicket. West Indies also took 96 off him in Guwahati, though he got two wickets there. Across those two series, he took seven wickets and gave away 445 runs in 58.1 overs. In his first two games in New Zealand, he took the same seven wickets but for only 74 runs in 19.2 overs. His economy rate dropped from 7.65 to 3.83.
Brar grew up in Mohali, playing tennis-ball cricket. He started formal training at 15. His father played basketball at the national level. When fast-bowling coach Varinder Singh began working with him, Brar was about six feet five and already bowling in the mid-130s as a teenager. The coach asked him to spend a month bowling at about 100 kmph. They changed his action and worked on keeping him stable through delivery. The idea was to let him feel the changes and work on his swing before bringing the speed back up.
He made his first-class debut for Punjab in 2022 and took 4 for 16 against Railways. He made his IPL debut for Punjab Kings in 2023. In the 2024-25 Ranji Trophy, he led Punjab with 26 wickets in seven matches at an average of 20.30. Gujarat Titans bought him for ₹1.3 crore at the 2024 auction. He was taking a nap during the 2026 IPL when India named him in the squad to face Afghanistan.
Virat Kohli Surpasses Ricky Ponting to Become Leading Run-Scorer Against New Zealand
Virat Kohli now has the most ODI runs against New Zealand. He passed Ricky Ponting during the second ODI in Wellington on Saturday. Kohli and Ponting were level on 1,971 runs before the match. Kohli needed one run to go ahead. He got it with a boundary. But he was out for just seven runs in that innings. His total against New Zealand is now 1,975.
The list of top run-scorers against New Zealand in ODIs looks like this. Kohli leads with 1,975. Ponting is second with 1,971. Sachin Tendulkar is third with 1,750. Kumar Sangakkara has 1,568. Sanath Jayasuriya has 1,519. Jacques Kallis has 1,449.
Kohli had made 74 in the first ODI. That helped India chase a revised target of 143 under the DLS method. India won that game. In the second ODI, India’s young bowling attack did well. They bowled New Zealand out for 134. Gurnoor Brar took four wickets. Auqib Nabi and Anshul Kamboj took two each. Axar Patel also got two. Shubman Gill won the toss and chose to field in a match reduced to 47 overs by rain.
FAQs
Q. Who was India’s leading wicket-taker?
A. Gurnoor Brar took four wickets.
Q. How many runs did Daryl Mitchell score?
A. Mitchell scored 55 runs for New Zealand.
Q. What was India’s score when rain stopped play?
A. India were 113 for 7 after 26 overs.
Q. What is India’s lead in the five-match series?
A. India lead the series 2-0.
Get the Latest Cricket Updates at IceCric.News. Also, Follow Our Social Media for live updates on Facebook and Instagram.
