First time was so nice, India had to do it twice. New Zealand opener Will Young was given two lives in the space of two balls after Rohit Sharma and wicketkeeper Ishan Kishan dropped catches off consecutive deliveries in the fourth ODI at Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui on Friday.The two chances came off the fifth and sixth balls of the second over, bowled by Auqib Nabi. Rohit was the first to put down a catch at first slip after Young edged a delivery outside off stump. Kishan then missed another opportunity behind the stumps off the very next ball, with Young getting another outside edge. Nabi was left disappointed as India failed to make the most of two early chances.Meanwhile, India may have a new captain, but their success at the toss has continued. Shreyas Iyer won the toss and elected to bowl in his first match as India’s ODI captain. He took over from Shubman Gill, who has left the squad along with several other players to join India’s Test team ahead of the first match against New Zealand, starting next Thursday.India have now won eight of the nine tosses across the T20I and ODI series, calling tails on every occasion.Ruturaj Gaikwad made his first appearance of the series, while Ishan Kishan took over wicketkeeping duties in place of KL Rahul. Kuldeep Yadav also returned to India’s bowling line-up.New Zealand made several changes to their team due to injuries and players joining their Test squad. Nick Kelly, Dean Foxcroft and Finn Allen strengthened the batting line-up, while Kristian Clark and Matt Henry came into the pace attack.India lead the five-match series 2-0 and are in a position to become the first touring team in seven years to win an ODI series in New Zealand.Friday’s match is also expected to avoid the rain interruptions that affected the earlier games. India won the rain-affected first ODI in Auckland by five wickets and the second in Wellington by four runs. The third match, also scheduled in Wellington on Tuesday, was abandoned without a ball being bowled.FOLLOW LIVE
Leave a Reply