India vs New Zealand | New Zealand tour of India, 2026 | 2nd ODI

This is turning out to be another cracker-jack of an ODI series. The Kiwis have managed to upstage the hosts and have levelled the series at 1-1 and we now head into the decisive third game. Remember, New Zealand have never won a bilateral ODI series against India, in India and neither team will be backing down in the decider. The 3rd and final ODI will be played in Indore on Saturday, January 18 and will begin at 1.30 pm IST (8 am GMT). However, you can join us well in advance for the build-up. ADIOS. TAKE CARE.

DARYL MITCHELL IS THE PLAYER OF THE MATCH for his match-winning century. Mitchell says that it is really nice to get the win and they hadn't won an ODI game here for a couple of years. Adds that he is just enjoying his job and representing his country, calling it an honor to play for the 'Silver Ferns.' Mentions that Will Young is a class player and loves batting with him and lauds the way he played and is happy to have built a big stand with him. On Kuldeep Yadav, Mitchell says that he is a world-class bowler and they recognized that as a batting unit and felt that it was necessary to put him under pressure and ends by saying that it feels good to have won the game for your nation.

MICHAEL BRACEWELL, the skipper of New Zealand, says that it was a complete performance from them and he is happy with the win. He says that they bowled really well and he is proud of his team. Further says that the guys adapted the conditions well and Will Young and Daryl Mitchell were excellent with the bat. He adds that they didn't target any particular bowler as such but they adapted with the conditions and played their natural game.

The Indian skipper, SHUBMAN GILL, says that they couldn't pick up wickets in the middle overs, which makes it difficult at the death to stop the batters and even if they had 10-15 runs more, it wouldn't have mattered. Adds that on these types of wickets, once you have a partnership, the set batters need to stick around for longer as it wasn't easy for the new batter and eventually, they did get to a decent total on the board. Reckons that in the first 10-15 overs that they bowled, the ball was doing a bit and they could have been braver in the middle overs. On the fielding lapses, Gill says that even in the last match, they put down a couple of chances and they pride themselves on being a good fielding unit and he feels that once you put down such chances, you most likely lose the game as well.

The Presentation ceremony...

One of New Zealand's stars with the bat, Will Young, is down for a chat with the broadcasters. He says that he is happy with the win, and batting with Daryl Mitchell was fun. Adds that the run rate was over 7 when Kuldeep Yadav came on to bowl and that is when they decided to throw caution to the wind and tried to put the pressure back on India. He adds that sometimes it is hard to score, but the important thing is to back each other while batting. He further says that he has been working on his batting and ends by saying that they had to win the game, and he enjoyed his partnership with Daryl Mitchell.

Earlier in the game, Michael Bracewell won the toss and elected to field, hoping for some dew later in the game but Shubman Gill was happy to bat first and the recent record at the venue suggested that batting first was the way to go. India started slowly but were soon 57/0 in 10 overs. The bowling changes then worked out for New Zealand as Rohit Sharma got out playing a lofted shot and then Gill too fell after notching up a 50. India were soon 118/4 and the Kiwi spinners were tightening the screws. KL Rahul had to play another anchoring knock and got his team out of a fix by building a couple of stands along with Ravindra Jadeja and Nitish Kumar Reddy. Rahul went to notch up his 8th ODI ton and took India to a fairly solid total of 284. Debutant Jayden Lennox and Michael Bracewell were the pick of the bowlers for the Kiwis and their spells helped New Zealand restrict India to a total of under 300.

New Zealand are missing the likes of Kane Williamson, Rachin Ravindra, and Tom Latham, among others and a lot rested on the shoulders of their top 4 batters. Devon Conway fell early after a steady start, whereas Henry Nicholls never looked settled on the crease. Will Young was under pressure to perform but was sluggish to begin with and once again, it was Daryl Mitchell who stepped up. Mitchell took all the pressure off Young by finding those boundaries and the duo rotated strike really well and eventually, Young was able to find his range as well. Young stitched together 162 big runs with Mitchell before falling for 87, but Mitchell went on to score an unbeaten hundred and along with a very handy knock from Glenn Phillips, Mitchell managed to see his side over the line.

India had a good score on the board, one that looked pretty big on this deck and their frontline pacers made it look even bigger after that burst in the first 10 overs. Harshit Rana was brilliant and picked up a wicket, whereas Mohammed Siraj was miserly yet again without really creating any chances. The middle phase is where India let the game slip. There wasn't any sign of dew on the field and yet, the spinners simply couldn't get into the game. Kuldeep Yadav was attacked from the get-go and ended up bowling much more defensive lengths than he would have liked. When KD did flight it up, he did create a catching opportunity but Daryl Mitchell was dropped on the fence by Prasidh Krishna and after that, it was one-way traffic. Also, the deficiency of the third spinner is something India aren't used to and the gentle pace of Nitish Kumar Reddy wasn't used all that much.

New Zealand level the series in style and finally, Daryl Mitchell has played a big knock against India that has resulted in a win rather than a heartbreaking loss. It was a perfectly anchored chase from one of the most in-form ODI batters in the world right now and just like against South Africa, India have been forced into a decider in a three-match ODI series at home. This is also New Zealand's highest successful run chase in ODIs in India.