Tom Latham scored his fourth ODI hundred and first in Asia
Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo
Tom Latham and Ross Taylor struck an unbeaten 103 and 95 respectively to lead New Zealand to a six-wicket win over India in the first ODI in Mumbai.
Latham and Taylor broke a record during the match as they forged a 200-run partnership, which is the highest stand for any overseas pair while chasing against India in India.
It was also the highest successful chase at the Wankhede Stadium, beating the 275 India chased down to win the 2011 World Cup.
While Latham and Taylor soaked in their side’s victory, there was only disappoint for India captain Virat Kohli as his hundred in his 200th ODI went in vain.
Choosing to bat first, India struggled early on as opener Shikhar Dhawan was caught behind off the bowling of Trent Boult for nine runs in the fourth over.
Dhawan’s opening partner, Rohit Sharma, was looking in ominous form as he smashed two successive sixes in the fifth over, but Boult sent him back to the pavilion by cleaning him up for an 18-ball 20.
Having lost two wickets in quick time, Kohli and Kedar Jadhav began to rebuild the innings, but after amassing a 42-run partnership, Jadhav was caught and bowled by Mitchell Santner for 12.
Kohli and Dinesh Karthik kept the scoreboard ticking with a 73-run stand, during which Kohli brought up his fifty, before Karthik was dismissed by Tim Southee for 37.
Kohli and Mahendra Singh Dhoni continued to keep the runs flowing with a 57-run partnership before Dhoni, who made 25, became Boult’s third victim.
Hardik Pandya mustered a 16-ball 16 before he was brilliantly caught by New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson off the bowling of Boult.
Kohli ended up making 121 off 125 balls, which included nine boundaries and two sixes, before he was caught by Boult at long-on off the bowling of Southee.
Virat Kohli celebrates after bringing up his 31st ODI century
Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo
With Bhuvneshwar Kumar smashing a quickfire 26 not out, India concluded their innings on 280/8.
Boult was the pick of the bowlers with four wickets, while Southee snapped up three and Santner chipped in with one.
Trent Boult wreaked havoc at the beginning and towards the end of India’s innings
Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo
Chasing 281 to win, New Zealand made a brisk start to their innings, scoring 23 runs off 3.5 overs before the match was delayed for about five minutes by a floodlight failure.
Following the short delay, Martin Guptill and Colin Munro added 25 runs to their team’s score before Munro was dismissed by Jasprit Bumrah for 28.
Kane Williamson fell shortly after for six runs, while Guptill went on to make 32 before he was caught by Karthik off the bowling of Pandya.
Taylor and Latham steadied the ship for the Black Caps as they amassed a 200-run partnership, during which Latham brought up his hundred, while Taylor was within touching distance of the triple-figure mark.
The stand between the duo led to New Zealand levelling the scores and with one run separating them from victory, disaster struck as Taylor was caught by Yuzvendra Chahal at extra cover off the bowling of Kumar.
Taylor’s fabulous innings of 95 came off 100 balls and included eight boundaries.
Ross Taylor fell five runs short of his 18th ODI century
Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo
The very next ball, Henry Nicholls finished things off as he heaved the ball over the leg side for a boundary.
While Nicholls finished on four, Latham remained undefeated on 103 off 102 deliveries, which included eight boundaries and two sixes.
Kumar, Bumrah, Pandya and Kuldeep Yadav claimed one wicket each.
Kohli was gutted to have lost, and said: “The knock was satisfying. Purely because New Zealand put us under pressure early on. We thought 275 was a good total. But Ross and Tom were fantastic. Didn’t give us any chances, apart from a run-out here or there. And when you get a 200 partnership, you deserve to win. Putting dew into perspective, in the last 13-14 overs, we were 20-30 short. But in the first half of the day, the wicket was playing very different.
“We would have liked a better batting performance, if a couple more guys had chipped in, batting a few more overs, we could have 40 runs extra. New Zealand tackled our spinners really well, handled the fast bowlers too. Credit to Tom and Ross – Tom especially, Ross has been around for a while. He’s not played as many international games, but he played superbly. Trent as well, with the ball.
“There was enough turn in the pitch to trust the frontline spinners. Maybe if the chase had gone away from us earlier, or If the lower order was in, we might have used Kedar. Hardik did well for us as well, so we didn’t feel the need to bring Kedar in.”
Williamson was delighted to have won, and said: “Brilliant performance. The tone we set was good at the start of the innings. It was a brilliant performance from Virat, happening every time he walks out to the crease. But we stuck at it and it was one of the greatest chases I’ve seen, certainly in my time as a Black Cap.
“Short ball, we tried it a lot, would have been nicer if a few balls had gone to hand. But I have to go back to that partnership – Tom and Ross controlled the innings perfectly through the middle overs. You know over here that you take the game deep. It was something we wanted to do. Even with a few more batsmen in the shed, they had to finish it off.
“The weather was very challenging. We’ve been here two weeks, you can’t really get used to it, but we got on with it. Stuck to the task well and in all facets.”
Latham was named Man of the Match, and said: “All good. Pretty humid out there, keeping 50 overs and batting all that time, it was tough. Conditions are completely different than back home. Whatever suits the team. At the moment, it’s No. 5, it’s up for grabs and it was nice to contribute today.
“Something I had been working on, just didn’t have the confidence to play the reverse sweep so early in the game. The biggest thing in a partnership is communication, we were talking every over, hats off to him, playing such a great innings. He was a calming influence on me.”