Matt Henry Takes Six Wickets as New Zealand Crush India by 244 Runs

Matt Henry ripped the heart out of India’s batting order with a fiery six-wicket burst at Bay Oval on Friday, condemning the tourists to a staggering 244-run drubbing in the fourth one-day international. Chasing 334, India disintegrated inside the opening over and collapsed to 89 all out. It marks India’s second-heaviest defeat by runs in their 1,088-match ODI history.

New Zealand's resounding victory keeps the five-match series alive at 2-1, denying India an early trophy wrap after rain washed out the third fixture. The hosts cannot win the bilateral rubber, yet they now head into Sunday’s decider with complete psychological momentum.

Henry's Triple Strike at 0/3 Leaves Chase in Ruins

Any hopes of hunting down the 334-run target vanished across six deliveries from Henry. The New Zealand seamer produced a devastating first over, removing Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Shreyas Iyer without a run on the board. The scoreboard read 0 for 3 before Mount Maunganui spectators had settled into their seats.

Ruturaj Gaikwad followed shortly after, deepening the paralysis. Ishan Kishan fought back with 27 and Axar Patel contributed 21 during a stubborn 44-run stand, while Naman Dhir chipped in with a brisk 21. But their resistance merely delayed the inevitable. Henry returned to clean up the tail, finishing with six wickets as India plunged to their sixth-lowest team total in 50-over cricket.

Will Young Punishes Early Drops With Career-Best 125

New Zealand’s dominance had been constructed hours earlier by Will Young. The 33-year-old opener hammered 125 off 108 deliveries—his highest ODI score and fifth international century—after enduring miserable single-digit outings of nine and six in the opening two clashes.

Yet India handed him the lifeline. In the second over of the innings, Young was dropped on consecutive balls, first by Rohit and immediately after by wicketkeeper Kishan. Young did not look back. Backed by Tim Seifert’s punchy 58 and Finn Allen’s 41, the Black Caps posted an imposing 333 on the board. Axar Patel, Gurnoor Brar, and Auqib Nabi took two wickets apiece for India, but the fielding lapses exacted a brutal toll.

Final Clash Set for Bay Oval

Both Gill and Rahul will remain on the sidelines for Sunday’s fifth and final ODI at the same venue. The duo is prioritizing preparations for the two-Test series against New Zealand, which gets underway on Wednesday. That leaves the current playing group with 48 hours to fix their technical vulnerabilities before New Zealand attempt to square the series 2-2 at Bay Oval.