NZ vs IND 2026: New Zealand vs India, 4th ODI - Who Said What?

New Zealand beat India by a whopping 244 runs in the fourth ODI on Friday, November 13. This match was played at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui.

Mitchell Santner lost another toss in the series and Shreyas Iyer decided to bowl first. However, this time, the Kiwi opening duo of Will Young and Tim Seifert got the hosts off to a solid start, adding 85 runs in 12 overs. While Nick Kelly and Dean Foxcroft were dismissed cheaply, Finn Allen played a brilliant cameo of 41 off 30 balls. On the other end, Young anchored the innings and eventually finished with 125 runs off 108 balls.

Lower down the order, Santner, Kristian Clarke, and Kyle Jamieson made useful contributions to take the Black Caps to a formidable score of 333 in 50 overs.

In reply, India lost three wickets in the first over itself and never really recovered. Ishan Kishan was the top-scorer, adding 27 runs in 53 balls. Axar Patel and Naman Dhir were also dismissed in their 20s and their brief resistance managed to delay the inevitable. The Men in Blue were bowled out for 89 in 26.4 overs. Henry, who bagged three wickets in the first over, finishing with figures of 6/27 in 9.4 overs.

NZ vs IND: Talking Points

1. Matt Henry torments India, bringing back memories of 2019 ODI World Cup semi-final

Matt Henry wreaked havoc with the new ball on Friday. In the first over itself, he bagged the wickets of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Shreyas Iyer. None of them could open their account. Through the middle overs, he got the better of Ishan Kishan. In the end, Henry finished proceedings by taking the wickets of Kuldeep Yadav and Gurnoor Brar. The 34-year-old registered his best ODI figures of 6/27, earning his the Player of the Match award.

2.  Will Young excels once again vs India

Will Young was one of the standout performers during New Zealand's Test tour of India in 2024, which the visitors won 3-0. On Friday, the right-handed batter put in a batting masterclass. Young pierced the gaps to perfection and kept the scoreboard ticking. He perished in the 37th over after having scored 125 off 108 balls, belting 14 fours and four sixes. This is his highest ODI score.

3. Tim Seifert scores maiden ODI fifty

While Will Young took time to get his eye in, his fellow opener Tim Seifert took the attack to the bowlers inside the powerplay. He brought up his half-century within the first 10 overs of the match. Seifert hit six fours and three sixes during his flamboyant knock of 58 off 48 balls. The wicketkeeper-batter made the work of the following batters easier as she set a solid foundation alongside Young.

NZ vs IND: Who Said What?

Shreyas Iyer, India Captain

[On the defeat and summing up the performance] We saw it, there was a huge difference in the first innings and the second innings in terms of wicket, but also credit where it's due, the way Henry bowled in the right areas right from ball one. I think that was sensational. [On the use of short-ball tactics and the ideal bowling length on the surface] I think we tried almost everything in the first innings, the way they were playing on the rise. And we thought that the wicket was better to bat on considering they got 330 after that. Obviously a couple of dropped catches, but that definitely happens in a game. But yeah, when we got into the dressing room, we thought that we would be cruising through the chase as well. But the way the ball was seaming in and out, you couldn't basically decide from inside that this is how I'm going to play. Or even if you saw the wickets, no one threw the wicket away. It was good deliveries. [On preparing for the next match] It's important to forget about this one, obviously, analyze what went wrong in terms of bowling and batting. But at the back of the mind it's important that we have also won two games. So a lot of inspiration from that one and see to it that we come with a fresh set of mind.

Mitchell Santner, New Zealand Captain

[How happy are you with that entire performance?] Yeah, pretty happy. Didn't have to bowl again, so pretty happy. Nah, yeah obviously put in again. Thought the boys put the pressure back on them pretty early in the powerplay, which was nice. And then obviously Youngy did his thing, Seifert, little cameos along the way and then it got us to a pretty good score. We probably left a couple out there we thought. But then yeah, I guess Matt Henry with the new ball's pretty nice. [You probably left a few out there as well because you're in a position to maybe look at 350, 360, even more?] Yeah, I think we were thinking that kind of 360 mark. I think we just, yeah I mean the intent was great throughout the innings. I think if we just kind of kept each partnership, maybe another 20 balls, I think you can get through the, get to the 50 overs and then you can really set up the death phase and go from there.

But they did really well to keep chipping wickets away and that's what you have to do in one-day cricket. [How nice to have Matt Henry back tonight?] Yeah, nice. He wanted to play today. Yeah, I think with the new ball on a wicket that offers a little bit, he's the world's best. So yeah, to get three pretty big scalps in that first over really, yeah, put us on the front foot. [The pace of Matt Fisher, it seems to be getting through a few players?] Yeah, I think we've seen it with, I guess, Brar as well against when it's a bit in the wicket, bit of bounce and pushing guys back. It's been tricky. And I guess that's Fisher's role for us. You know, when he gets his rhythm going, he's really nice. And he's going to keep growing. He was pretty nervous his first few games. But yeah, I think the more wickets, the more games under his belt, he's going to keep flying. [Series still alive. What do you do tomorrow?] Yeah, chill. I guess the fast bowlers need to chill a little bit. I might have to come have a bowl. But yeah, I think it's just rest up and see what, I guess Sunday offers for us from a pitch point of view, from a conditions point of view and go again.

Matt Henry, Player of the Match

Great to be back. Obviously it's been a funny odd year. So, good to be back here with some one-day cricket. [On his recovery and missing the previous matches] It wasn't ideal, colliding heads with Dev (Devon Conway). I think I take a bit of responsibility on that one too. So, not ideal, but it just pushed things back a little bit. But thankfully we're doing alright now. [On the workload management] Yeah, I think that was the key part. Obviously once you have a head knock like that, you just got to be really careful and it pushed things back a bit. But this is really key for moving forward to what is a huge summer for us. [On his 1st over - triple wicket maiden] Yeah, it's quite funny, isn't it? The wind was so strong and it was keeping things pretty simple, and it's funny when you're actually trying to have a simple game plan. A bit of luck as well. One shot a little bit low there too, so maybe the wind pushed me a bit sideways (smiles).

[Bowling strategy] Well, especially with the way the wind was going, I wasn't too worried about the swing. So from ball one it was just about trying to have the strengths and bring the stumps in play, really. We knew that there was a small window there with the new ball that you could put the batters under pressure. So just trying to be as simple as possible, obviously, and when it moves sharply like that in the first over, when people are facing first ball, it's pretty tough. [On his successes against India] Oh, I don't want to get too carried away. No, they're a world-class outfit, and I think that's the message that we were saying right through. They can bat deep, and yeah, look, it's one game and we've got another one coming up soon that hopefully we can level the series. [On the transition to Test cricket] Yeah, join in with the Test squad. We've got a bit of a training camp, just get the red ball in hand and then just get ready for next week.