Matt Henry tore the heart out of India’s batting lineup inside six devastating deliveries at the Bay Oval. Chasing 334, India watched their chase disintegrate into ash before the Mount Maunganui seagulls could even settle. Three wickets. Zero runs. One over. New Zealand hammered the tourists by 244 runs, bowling them out for a paltry 89 in 26.4 overs.
It was absolute butchery. Rohit Sharma fell to the very first ball of the innings, closing his bat face early to end up hopelessly squared up. Virat Kohli walked in next and departed instantly, cleaned up by an in-dipper that skidded low through his gate. Shreyas Iyer, stepping in as captain, offered no answer to a wobble-seam bullet that pitched on off and jagged back viciously into his stumps. In the span of six balls, Henry removed India's three premier right-handers for ducks.
Fans who had stepped away for drinks returned to stare at the giant screen in disbelief. Some headed straight for the exits.
Henry’s opening salvo unlocked an ugly entry in cricket record books. Never before in one-day international history had India lost three wickets without registering a single run. Across all ODI cricket, such an opening-over horror show had occurred only four times previously. It also marked just the second instance where both Kohli and Rohit recorded ducks in the same match.
Matters nearly unraveled further when Nick Kelly put down a regulation slip chance off Axar Patel on the bowler's very next ball. But Kyle Jamieson gave India no breathing room, swiftly removing Ruturaj Gaikwad as the visitors slumped to four down inside the opening powerplay.
| Match Scorecard Summary | Details & Metrics |
|---|---|
| New Zealand 1st Innings | 333 all out (50 overs) |
| Top NZ Scorers | Will Young 125, Finn Allen 41 |
| Key Indian Bowlers | Axar Patel 2/39, Auqib Nabi 2/59, Gurnoor Brar 2/69 |
| India 2nd Innings | 89 all out (26.4 overs) |
| Top Indian Scorer | Ishan Kishan 27 |
| Key NZ Bowlers | Matt Henry 6/27 (Career-Best), Matthew Fisher 3/31 |
| Margin of Victory | New Zealand won by 244 runs |
When Henry returned for his second spell, he snuffed out India's lone patch of fight. Ishan Kishan had scraped together 27 runs before Henry went round the wicket, pitching a good-length ball that bit back off the deck. Kishan pushed forward, but left daylight between bat and pad—the inside edge ricocheted off his pads and clipped the leg bail.
Kuldeep Yadav followed soon after. Henry delivered another dart that nipped inward sharply, beating Yadav’s late forward defense to clatter the top of off-stump. That strike sealed Henry’s fourth career five-wicket haul in ODIs. Matthew Fisher cleaned up the lower order with 3 for 31 before Henry wrapped up his career-best 6 for 27.
Earlier in the afternoon, Will Young had anchored New Zealand's commanding total of 333 with a disciplined 125, backed by Finn Allen’s brisk 41, while Indian seamers Auqib Nabi and Gurnoor Brar took two wickets apiece alongside Axar Patel's tidy 2 for 39.
Both teams now turn their sights to the Bay Oval once more, where they square off in the series decider before launching into the upcoming Test series.