Hosts New Zealand inflicted a crushing 244-run defeat on India in the fourth ODI at Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui on Friday, November 13, after a dramatic batting collapse saw the tourists dismissed for just 89 runs in 26.4 overs while chasing 334. New Zealand quick Matt Henry was the architect of the victory, returning figures of six wickets for 27 runs after decimating India’s top order in the first over to leave them stranded at 0/3. This loss now ranks as India’s second-biggest defeat by runs in ODI cricket, second only to the 245-run drubbing by Sri Lanka in Sharjah on October 29, 2000, while India also narrowly dodged a record low by a single run, preserving their 88 in Dambulla from August 2010 as their lowest ODI score against New Zealand. Henry wasted no time asserting dominance at the start of India’s innings by dismissing Rohit Sharma off the opening ball, bowling Virat Kohli for a four-ball duck on the fifth ball, and removing stand-in captain Shreyas Iyer—captaining India in ODIs for the first time—for a golden duck to plunge the team into crisis at 0/3. Kyle Jamieson further deepened India’s woes by dismissing Ruturaj Gaikwad for five during his first match of the series, played while regular captain Shubman Gill rested for the upcoming Test series, leaving India at 9/4 with no way back. Complementing Henry’s six-wicket burst, Matt Fisher bagged three wickets and Jamieson took one, propelling New Zealand’s commanding performance into second spot among India’s heaviest ODI losses, right behind the 2000 Sharjah fixture where India fell 245 runs short after being bowled out for 54 chasing 300.
