New Zealand vs India, 1st ODI - Talking points and Who Said What?

Having sealed the three-match T20I series, India came to Auckland with a lot of expectations but their plans did not work out in the first ODI. Tom Latham and Kane Williamson’s unbroken partnership of 221 runs for the fourth wicket proved to be a massive factor as it never allowed the Indian bowlers to get back into the game.

Latham was the standout batter with an unbeaten 145 while Williamson played the supporting act with an unbeaten 94 as the Kiwis won the game by seven wickets and 2.5 overs to spare. 

Earlier, India had scored 306 for 7 in their 50 overs on the back of Shreyas Iyer’s 80 while the openers Shubman Gill and Shikhar Dhawan scored half-centuries. However, with the track being quite flat and with not much assistance for the fast bowlers, India were short by 30-40 runs and the absence of the sixth bowler also played its part in India’s defeat. Here are the talking points from the game:

Tim Southee becomes fifth New Zealand bowler to reach 200 ODI wickets 

Tim Southee in his spell of 3 for 73 achieved the landmark of 200 ODI wickets and is now only behind Daniel Vettori, Kyle Mills and Chris Harris in terms of most wickets bagged by a New Zealand bowler in the format.

He also became the first-ever player to record 300 plus Test wickets, 200 plus ODI wickets, and 100 plus T20I wickets after dismissing Shikhar Dhawan in the match. 

Tom Latham registers highest ODI score for a New Zealand batter against India 

Tom Latham’s unbeaten 145 off just 104 balls is now the highest ODI score by a New Zealand batter against India. The left-hander hit 19 fours and five sixes in his superlative knock and went past the previous record held by Nathan Astle who scored 120 in Rajkot in 1999.  

Losing skipper, Shikhar Dhawan said:

We felt good about the total. First 10-15 overs the ball did a lot. It's a bit different than other grounds. Have to plan accordingly. Today we've bowled short of length and Latham attacked us there. That's where he took the game away from us especially in the 40th over. That's where the momentum shifted. Really enjoy playing here. Would've been happier if we won but that's part and parcel. They're all young boys and lots of learning for them. Bowling side and fielding side as well (what areas need improvement?). We need to implement our plans more wisely and make sure we don't make the batsmen play on their strength.

Winning skipper, Kane Williamson said:

At the halfway stage I thought it was a competitive total. The wicket was starting to turn a bit. And the cross-seamers got a bit out of it. But as we know on this ground if you build partnerships you can chase anything. Incredible knock by Latham. Absolutely on fire. We're talking in the middle about getting through this over and that over. And then he just flicked a switch. Incredible innings. On this ground with the drop-in pitch, if you bowl nice and straight, it can be hard to get the ball away a little bit. It was an over or two where he flicked a switch. We got that big over and he just kept going. One of the more special ODI knocks I've seen. It was a very good wicket. Spin played a big role as we saw. Nice to get a win. When we started seeing it turn like it did, you think a number of things. But I thought the seamers did a very good job. It was nice to make a contribution. With Tommy (Latham) going the way he was, just tried to complement that. Just super special to be at the other end and see it.

Player of the match, Tom Latham said:

It was just one of those days when everything came off well. Built a partnership with Kane and had a bit of fun, just reacted to things and it paid off. It's about being in strong positions and react to what they were bowling. Was able to find the gaps. The preparation has been ideal, it's been nice and was able to hit the ball right today. Sundar was getting some turn, found a bit hard to play against him. It's a small ground and we could capitalize at the end. Don't know where that came from, just one of those days.