Lowest Team Total in India vs New Zealand ODIs

It’s always an emphatic game of cricket when India takes on New Zealand. Be it any format, the two heavyweights have always showcased fierce competition.

The lowest team total in India vs New Zealand ODIs came in the 2016 series when the Kiwis were bowled out for just 79 while chasing a target of 270. New Zealand toured India for a 5-match ODI series in October. It was the final and the decider 50-over match of the series as both teams stood at two wins apiece in the previous four matches.

Before we dive deep into this game which saw the lowest team score in India vs New Zealand ODIs, let’s have a look at the top 10 lowest Team Total in India vs New Zealand ODIs:

Lowest team total in India vs New Zealand ODIs

The last game was played on 29th October 2016, at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam. After winning the toss, Indian captain M.S. Dhoni elected to bat first. This match also marked the debut of off-spinner, Jayant Yadav. For this crucial match, India played three frontline spinners on a slow-turning pitch at Vizag.

This match was special for the Indian players as well as the fans because the cricketers played with their mother’s names on their jerseys! Moreover, the game took place just one day ahead of India’s auspicious festival of Diwali.

Ajinkya Rahane and Rohit Sharma walked out to open the innings for India. They faced the first over against the quality bowling of experienced Tim Southee. India got off to a decent start and played safely in the first few overs before Ajinkya Rahane was dismissed for 20(39) by James Neesham on the second delivery of the tenth over. The Indian duo added 40 runs for the first wicket.

In came Virat Kohli to bat at number 3 for India. Both the batsmen had a great tuning with one another and were expected to form a partnership and take India forward in the middle overs of the game.

Rohit went after the Kiwi bowlers and used the gaps to good effect to keep the score moving. He scored a fine fifty. However, on the last ball of the 22nd over, Rohit succumbed to a bouncer from Boult and went back to the pavilion after smashing 70(65).

MS Dhoni promoted himself up the order and joined Kohli next. Dhoni struggled to get going in the first 20-25 deliveries while Virat kept pinching runs at the other end. However, he didn’t take long to assess the pitch and accelerated well thereafter But just after Kohli brought up his 38th ODI fifty, Santer bowled Dhoni LBW for 41(59) and India stood at 190/3 in the 38th over.

Manish Pandey was the man to bat at number 5 but his stay at the crease was short-lived as he was dismissed by Sodhi for a duck after playing just 5 balls. On the other side, Kohli was still batting as India was about to touch the 200-run mark.

With the last 10 overs of the innings, Kohli and Jadhav had to get going with Virat being the set batsman, trying to play as the aggressor. Unluckily for India, Kohli got out just at the wrong time in the 44th over after Sodhi picked up his second wicket. He was dismissed for a well-made 65(76).

With half the side back in the pavilion, it was now down to Jadhav and Axar to get India past 250. Jadhav was striking at 100 while Axar was also going at a similar pace with the bat. With 4 overs to go, India was 236/5 on the board. The two batsmen constructed a good partnership of 45 runs for the 6th wicket before Axar was clean bowled on the third last ball of the innings by Boult. But his vital contribution of 24(18) helped India get near a score of 270.

In their 50 overs, India finished on 269-6 where Rohit Sharma top-scored with a knock of 70 runs.

India had posted a target of 270 runs for New Zealand which was a tricky one to chase under lights with the added pressure of the game being the decider of the ODI series.

They had to score runs at 5.40 RPO which was going to be difficult against India’s 3 spin wizards on a turning track.

But one can never count out the BlackCaps batsmen who had the capability to turn the game around with their power-hitting. The opening pair of Martin Guptill, and Tom Latham came out to bat to give their team a solid foundation in this run chase.

Umesh Yadav started things off for India in the bowling department and he gave India the perfect start by uprooting Guptill’s wicket on what was just the 4th delivery of the innings. New Zealand lost their first with no runs on the board.

In came the skipper Kane Williamson to steady the ship after an early blow for his team. He and Latham brought things back on track with a positive approach, picking up 1s and 2s alongside boundaries almost every over.

However, this partnership was broken by Bumrah after he took the wicket of Latham on the last delivery of the sixth over and New Zealand lost their second wicket for 28 runs.

Williamson was then joined by the most experienced batsman in New Zealand, Ross Taylor. The two had the onus to work out a partnership and secure their wickets as the team had already lost their opening batsmen for paltry scores.

The experienced campaigners forged a 35-run stand and batted till the 14th over before Axar Patel struck big with the wicket of the skipper. New Zealand was in trouble with 63-3 in the 15th over.

They still had a 200-run mountain to climb with their 3 top batsmen who had gotten out and were already in the dressing room. Taylor was looked upon to take the innings forward and pull things back for the BlackCaps.

Unfortunately, he too got dismissed in the next over, thanks to Amit Mishra, and New Zealand was four down.

After this, the Kiwi batting line-up fell like a pile of cards. Mishra got his second scalp in the form of BJ Watling, followed by the dismissal of Anderson which earned Jayant Yadav his first ODI wicket. New Zealand was 74/6 after 19 overs.

Mishra then struck the wicket of Neesham on the first delivery of the next over, and then sent Southee back to the pavilion on the fifth delivery, as New Zealand lost their 8th wicket for 74 runs.

In the 22nd over, Mishra picked up his 2nd fifer in ODI cricket, courtesy of a top edge from Sodhi which was safely caught by the fielder at slip. India was just a wicket away from sealing the win and with it, the series

On the first delivery of the 23rd over, Axar Patel ended things by getting rid of Santner and India demolished New Zealand by a huge margin of 190 runs to win the ODI series 3-2!

Amit Mishra was adjudged the Player of the Match for his spell of 5-18 in 6 overs. With the help of this bowling masterclass from Mishra, India bowled out the Kiwis for their lowest-ever score against them in the history of ODI cricket.

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India vs New Zealand ODI records

Head-to-Head in ODIs:

Highest team total:

Most Runs:

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