New Zealand pacers Trent Boult's five wicket haul and Colin de Grandhomme disciplined bowling wrecked havoc on India's batting line-up as the visitors were bowled out for 92 in the fourth and penultimate One Day International (ODI) match here on Thursday.
Boult's 5/21, his fifth five wicket haul, is the second best figures for New Zealand against India in the limited overs format. Previously it was pacer Shane Bond (6/19) in 2005 in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.
Apart from Boult, Grandhomme picked up three wickets while Todd Astle and James Neesham chipped in with one wicket each.
It was an absolute no-show from the famed batting line-up. Despite having a long batting line-up, India failed drastically as only two batsmen -- Shikhar Dhawan (13) and Hardik Pandya (16) -- only managed to have a double-digit score.
Towards the end when India were reeling at 55/8, chinaman Kuldeep Yadav (15) and leg spinner Yuzvendra Chahal (18 not out) forged a small but crucial 25- runt partnership to help India reach 80 runs. Chahal was also the highest scorer for India.
Put in to bat openers Dhawan and Rohit Sharma (7) started the proceeding on a positive note, forging a 21 run stand before Dhawan was dismissed by Boult in the sixth over.
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From that point, Boult's carnage began. In the very next over, skipper Rohit was also sent packing by the pacer. Rohit played 23 balls and got caught and bowled.
Middle-order batsmen Ambati Rayudu (0) Dinesh Karthik (0) and Kedar Jadhav (1) were also departed early. The trio was dismissed by Grandhomme and boult.
Debutant Shubman Gill (9) also failed to live up to the expectations as the youngster also got caught and bowled by Boult.
Hardik, however tried to stabilise the things in the middle with the lower order batsmen but in the process he was sent back to the pavilion in the 20th over.
Kuldeep, Bhuvneshwar Kumar (1), Chahal and Khaleel Ahmed (5), then tried to help India get past 100 run mark but failed in doing so and as a result the visitors were bowled out in just 30.5 overs overs.
Brief Scores: India 92/10 (Yuzvendra Chahal 18 not out, Hardik Pandya 16; Trent Boult 5/21) against New Zealand.
--IANS
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