India v New Zealand, 1st ODI - New Zealand Player Ratings

In a rather unusual turn of events, the ODI series between India and New Zealand kickstarted with an upset of own proportions. Coming in to the series, the Indian side was expected to dictate terms considering the fact that they had brutally beaten the Australian side in their most recent ODI assignment.

Also, at the same time, the form of the Kiwi team in the recent times has not been the most clinical and consistent. All of this had only written off the New Zealand team in the 3 match ODI series. But now, with New Zealand winning the first match by 6 wickets, the series is wide open and the pressure is back on the hosts India now.

In the match, team India managed to post a decent 280/8 riding on skipper Virat Kohli’s majestic ton. For the visitors, Trent Boult was at his supreme best in the game. In the run chase, a record stand between Tom Latham and Ross Taylor saw the Kiwi team overhaul the target with relative ease to go 1-0 up in the series.

Here are the New Zealand Player Ratings for the match:

Martin Guptill – 6/10

Opener Martin Guptill had a decent time with the bat in the match. The track at Wankhede looked sluggish and with the dew coming in the second half, batting was only expected to get tougher. Despite the odds, Guptill managed to give him team a firm start in the match. He scored 32 off 48 deliveries in a rather uncharacteristic yet effective knock.

Colin Munro – 6/10

Coming in to the series, the New Zealand team was expected to come up with surprises and experiments. Keeping the bigger picture of the World Cup 2019 in mind, they had hinted at trying different permutations. The most awaited of them all was Colin Munro being promoted as an opener. The move seemed to have worked decently as he scored 28 off 35 deliveries in the match.

Kane Williamson – 3/10

Kiwi skipper Kane Williamson was expected to dictate terms in the series. He is undoubtedly the best batting asset that the team possesses on the tour, in term of consistency. However, Williamson had a very quiet start to the series and perished for a single digit score in the match. He was top notch with his captaincy though, making effective bowling changes.

Ross Taylor – 9/10

Veteran batsman Ross Taylor had a very quiet time with the bat when the Kiwis last toured India. This time around, he was expected to take the bulk of responsibility considering his vast experience. He delivered the goods in this game. Taylor was unlucky to have missed out on a well deserved century. He scored 95 off just 100 deliveries with 8 fours to his name.

Tom Latham – 9.5/10

Tom Latham was the most successful batsman for the New Zealand team when they had toured India last season. This time around, he saw a slip in his batting position. Despite that, he seemed to have continued from where he had left. Latham hit a brilliant unbeaten 103 off just 102 deliveries with 8 fours and 2 sixes to his name. He stitched a match winning 200 run stand with Taylor for the 4th wicket.

Henry Nicholls – 4/10

Henry Nicholls had very little say in the match. His services with the bat were largely not needed. He arrived at the crease with New Zealand being a hit away from the win. He hit a four on the very first ball that he faced to finish things off for his team.

Colin de Grandhomme – 3/10

All-rounder Colin de Grandhomme also did not have a lot to do in the match. He did not get a chance to bat owing to the stellar show from the top order. With the ball, he bowled only four overs to leak 27 runs.

Mitchell Santner – 7/10

Spinner Mitchell Santner reinstated his authority as the leading spinner of the New Zealand team. Santner finished with figures of 1/41 in his complete quota of 10 overs. He was the second most impactful bowler for the visitors in the match. He dismissed Kedar Jadhav in the middle overs to send the Indian team on the backfoot.

Adam Milne – 2/10

While the two premier Kiwi pacers made merry with the ball on the day, the lesser experienced Adam Milne found it tough getting his act together. He failed to adjust to the tracks and bowled the wrong lines. He went wicketless in the match. Also, he was not economical either. Milne was taken away for 62 runs in the 9 overs that he bowled.

Tim Southee – 7/10

Tim Southee found himself amongst the wickets too. He scalped three wickets for his side. However, he was taken away for a total of 3 runs in his quota of 10 overs. He picked the big wickets of Dinesh Karthik and Virat Kohli, in addition to that of Bhuvneshwar Kumar. He sent Karthik packing at a time when Karthik and Kohli had started threatening to take the game away from the visitors.

Trent Boult – 9.5/10

Trent Boult was at his lethal best in this game. Boult was the pick of the bowlers for New Zealand with a four wicket haul to his name. He gave early jolts to the Indian team by dismissing both the openers in the match. Later in the game, he bagged the big wickets of MS Dhoni and Hardik Pandya in the death overs. Boult finished with figures of 4/35 in his quota of 10 overs.