India suffered a disastrous start while chasing New Zealand’s target of 334 runs in the fourth ODI at Bay Oval on Friday, losing Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and stand-in captain Shreyas Iyer without scoring a run.
Matt Henry produced a remarkable triple-wicket maiden in the opening over to put New Zealand firmly in control. Rohit was dismissed from the very first delivery after the seaming ball moved away and took a thick outside edge. Finn Allen completed the catch at first slip, leaving the Indian opener with a golden duck.
Kohli came in under immediate pressure and was beaten by a delivery that seamed away. After facing a couple of dot balls, the former India captain was undone by a ball that nipped back sharply and stayed low. It went through the gap and struck the stumps, with Kohli departing for a four-ball duck.
Iyer lasted only one delivery. Henry found movement off the pitch with a good-length in-seamer that beat the batter’s inside edge and struck him on the back leg. Umpire Kumar Dharmasena initially rejected the appeal, but New Zealand’s review overturned the decision.
UltraEdge showed that the ball had not touched the bat, while ball-tracking indicated that it would have hit the middle stump. The decision completed Henry’s triple-wicket maiden and left India in a deeply troubled position at 0/3.
Henry continued to pose a threat in his next over, which was the third of the innings, but could not add another wicket. He nevertheless bowled another maiden to maintain the pressure on India.
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