Century-maker Tom Latham and Ross Taylor inspired New Zealand to a thrilling six-wicket win over India in the first one-day international at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium on Sunday.
The batsmen put on a 200-run partnership as the Kiwis successfully chased down 281 to stun the hosts after Indian captain Virat Kohli had hit a century of his own.
Left-hander Latham smashed 103 off 102 balls, including eight fours and two sixes, while Taylor made 95 off 99 as New Zealand won with six balls to spare, finishing on 284-4.
Here, we rate the players from both sides.
The left-hander was returning to the ODI side after missing the recent series against Australia but his innings was short lived after he was dismissed early by Trent Boult.
The Indian vice-captain had one of those days where nothing he attempted seemed to come off. In the end, while trying to do much too soon, Sharma was castled by Boult after attempting an ugly heave.
Kohli continues to defy belief and his 125-ball 121 was a sublime innings in testing conditions. The Indian skipper’s superb fitness was on display as he racked up his 31st ODI ton, moving ahead of Ricky Ponting and now only behind Sachin Tendulkar who has 49 centuries to his name.
That innings of Virat Kohli was about exemplary fitness. Mental and physical!👏👏👏🙏🙏🙏#ViratKohli
— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) October 22, 2017
A day to forget for the right-handed batsman after he threw away yet another start to fall for just 12 runs to Kiwi spinner Mitchell Santner. Wasn’t brilliant in the field either after dropping Colin Munro in the deep.
Returning to the ODI fold after missing out on the Australia series, Karthik looked assured in his comeback innings as he formed a decent partnership with Kohli. Fell to a miscued hook in the end after making a 47-ball 37.
Not the best of days for India’s stalwart either after a slow 42-ball 25. The middle-order maestro failed to fire in his innings as he struggled to rotate the strike. Fell to a soft dismissal in the end after trying to cut Boult.
It was not Pandya’s day either at the Wankhede after the all-rounder failed to deliver with the bat in the death overs. The platform was set for Pandya but he perished for a run-a-ball 16. He did alright with the ball though removing the dangerous Martin Guptill.
His all-round credentials seem to be rising with every match as Kumar’s late 15-ball 26 runs cameo helped push India’s score to an imposing 280. However, it wasn’t the best of days with the ball for Kumar as he was dominated by Latham and Taylor. He did pick up the wicket of Taylor but it was too little too late.
The youngster has had a fine start to his international career but he had no answers to Latham’s sweeps and reverse sweeps. The dew in the outfield made his task a little more difficult, but despite picking the crucial wicket of Kiwi skipper Kane Williamson, Yadav failed to make any sort of impact with his wrist-spin.
It was an off-day for India’s Kuldeep Yadav.
Like Yadav, Chahal too was rendered ineffective on the night by the sweeping power of Latham as the wrist-spinners struggled for any sort of impact. The leg-spinner was economical without causing any damage as Latham and Taylor took control.
One of the best death bowlers around at the moment, Bumrah was lacklustre againt the Kiwis as he failed to replicate his impressive performances. Though he did pick up the wicket of Colin Munro early on, he was ineffective in the death after a well set Latham and Taylor took the visitors towards victory.
He got the visitors off to a flyer along with Martin Guptill as the two put on a 48-run opening stand. He failed to kick on from his start though falling for a 35-ball 28.
Like Munro, Guptill got off to a solid start and was looking solid with his timing. He looked set for a big one before miscuing a pull off a Pandya short-delivery to fall for 32 runs.
The New Zealand skipper rotated his bowlers well during India’s innings but came undone with the bat after a soft dismissal. He fell for just 6 to Yadav while trying to lazily drive the spinner on the up.
The Kiwis batsman overcame severe cramps amidst the high humidity as he battled on to put a 200-run match-winning partnership with Latham. Fell towards the end for 95 but not before taking the visitors on the brink of victory.
Simply superb and sublime. Not once did the left-hander look in trouble during his unbeaten fourth ODI century. He demonstrated why he is one of the players to watch during this series after his marathon partnership with Taylor for the fourth wicket.
Superb innings is an understatement. Tom Latham, this is a gem. Ranks right at the top by a Kiwi in Asia. India a top bowling unit. #INDvNZ
— Jamie Alter (@jamie_alterTOI) October 22, 2017
Came on to hit the winning runs after Taylor’s late dismissal. He did not have much to do otherwise.
Like Nichollas, his services with the bat were not required after Latham’s superb knock. Bowled four overs of his medium pacers but failed to do any damage.
New Zealand’s sole spinner in the match showed his Indian counterparts how to bowl on the surface after an economical spell in which he conceded only 41 runs off his 10 overs. He also picked up the wicket of Kedar Jadhav after cleverly slowing down his pace.
The express pacer failed to back-up Trent Boult’s fiery start as he was picked at ease by India’s batsmen. Went for over 60 runs in the nine overs he bowled without picking up any wickets.
A bit of a mixed-bag from the Southee on the day as he was carted for runs galore but managed to pick up three wickets. Two of those came in the final over of the innings giving his wayward bowling a polished finish.
The 28-year old left armer was sensational with his precise lines and prodigious movement. He removed both of India’s openers early on and then returned to dent their middle order later on with the scalps of MS Dhoni and Pandya. In the end he finished with the best ODI figures by a Kiwi bowler in India with 4-35 off 10 overs.
Trent Boult running in hard & swinging it at 145 km/h on a unresponsive pitch.What a bowler! Good to watch @trent_boult @BLACKCAPS #INDvSL
— Daniel Alexander (@daniel86cricket) October 22, 2017
