5 Close One-day encounters between India and New Zealand

ByNawang Chugh, SportsCafe Editor

10/29/2016

The current ODI series between India and New Zealand is staged perfectly at 2-2. With an engrossing battle to follow today, both the teams would try to seal the series in their favour. In the wake of it, SportsCafe presents you five close encounters that kept the fans on the edge of their seat.

5.Benson and Hedges World Series Cup 1980-81 (India won by 5 runs)

No team would think of a win after scoring mere 162 runs, especially in the modern cricket. But, stories were different in the 80’s and 90’s when there were not so much protective gears and open filed sets. After India opting to bat first, bowled out for a paltry 162 runs. Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev got out for ducks whereas Sandeep Patil was the highest run-getter with 39 runs.

On the other side, New Zealand's strong batting line-up could have chased it easily but the early strikes from Kapil Dev and Roger Binny dismantled the Kiwis from the outset. However, some little contributions from Richard Hadlee's (20) and Lance Cairns' (26) had given some hope to make a comeback but those were never enough to take them across the victory line. Thus, New Zealand fell short by just 5 runs but not before a superb encounter.

4.India in New Zealand, 6th ODI, 2002-03 (India won by 1 wicket)

New Zealand was way ahead of India in the 7-match ODI series by 4-1. The stage of Eden Park was all set ,to give Kiwis their 5th victory of the series. Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly after winning the toss opted to field first. The decision was vindicated by Indian bolwers as the hosts were able to put just 199 runs on the board with the help of Lou Vincent's crucial innings of 53.

The thriller had come when India’s chase began. Opener Virender Sehwag made a fantastic century and got out for 112. Chasing a target of 200 runs with one man already scored a century, the game was just like completing a formality but New Zealand might have some other plans in their kitty. But, the Black Caps didn't let any Indian batsman score more than 8 runs afterwards, thanks to Andre Adams' furious spell. India was 198 for 9 when Javagal Srinath ran a leg bye off the next ball. Ashish Nehra, the man left in the end, had to hit that 1 run to secure a miraculous heist for India. As New Zealand's field was right up, Nehra stole a single to claim the victory for the country.

3.New Zealand in India, 2nd ODI, 2016-17 (New Zealand won by 6 runs)

In the ongoing series, India won the first ODI comfortably and were confident of claiming a win at the national capital too. In the presence of packed Delhi crowd, Dhoni opted to bowl first with Umesh Yadav removing Kiwi opener Martin Guptill for a duck. Then Kiwi captain Kane Williamson started his innings on a steady note and went on to score a century. His 118 helped his side to put 242 runs on the board. Jasprit Bumrah and Amit Mishra picked 3--wickets each giving India a chance to make it 2-0.

Who would have thought that New Zealand would fight back in this much total as the Kiwi bowlers removed Rohit Sharma and Rahane early on. Unfortunately, Virat Kohli also couldn't score big and went back for just 9 runs. The Indian batting line-up looked rattled at 4 for 72 when Pandey lost his wicket. Captain MS Dhoni got a good support from Kedar Jadhav but none of them could capitalize their innings. The late strikes from Hardik Pandya who played a composed innings with Umesh Yadav for company gave some hope to the Delhi fans, but the rush of adrenaline at the crucial moment saw Pandya threw his wicket away to handle the Kiwis a victory on Indian soil after 13 years .

2. India in New Zealand, 3rd ODI, 1993-94 (India won by 12 runs)

The four-match series was leveled at 1-1 before this encounter. In the 3rd ODI, hosts had won the toss and chose to field. India didn't mind it as Tendulkar and Jadeja were off to a blistering start with a 105-run partnership for the opening wicket. Navjot Singh Sidhu played an unbeaten knock of 71 runs that helped India to put 255 runs on the board.

Though the score was good enough, New Zealand were prepared for it. Chris Harris gave a great start to his side with his 7-boundary 44. The game was very much on the side of the hosts as Shane Thomson scored a valuable 60 runs. Kiwis were in need of 40 runs with 4 wickets left. Adam Parore's sensible innings could have made that possible had it not been the five-wicket haul from Anil Kumble which handed India a victory by 12 runs.

1. India in New Zealand, 2nd ODI, 2013-14 (New Zealand won by 15 runs) D/L Method

After a memorable victory at Napier by 24 runs, New Zealand was looking very confident to grab a win in the second ODI at Eden Park in Hamilton. The match was curtailed to 42-over a side after the rain had interrupted play during the first innings. While Martin Guptill and Kane Williamson had a brilliant partnership of 89 runs, Corey Anderson and Ross Taylor chipped in with 44 and 57 respectively. Black Caps set a solid target (revised) of 293 runs from 42 overs.

Indian openers got off to a good start butfailed to build their innings afterwards. The power-packed middle order including Kohli, Rahane, Dhoni and Raina showed brilliance by scoring valuable runs for their team. Kohli and Dhoni scored half-centuries while Raina and Rahane scored 35 and 36 respectively. After Dhoni's wicket in the 40th over, it looked like Jadeja and Ashwin can do it for the team but both of them failed to deliver as Men in Blue lost the game by 15 runs.

5 Close One-day encounters between India and New Zealand

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