New Zealand fast bowler Matt Henry removed Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Shreyas Iyer for ducks in the first over of India's second innings, bowling a triple-wicket maiden as the tourists were routed by 244 runs in the fourth one-day international at the Bay Oval. The three dismissals came in the opening over, meaning that India's three most experienced top-order batters were all out without scoring before the innings had properly begun.
India were eventually bowled out for 89, and the margin of 244 runs represents a heavy defeat in a 50-over match. The scale of the loss places considerable pressure on the visitors as the series continues, with the top order's failure at the start of the chase central to the result. Kohli, Rohit and Iyer each failed to score, and the innings never recovered from the early damage inflicted by the New Zealand attack.
A triple-wicket maiden in the first over of an innings is a rare feat in one-day cricket. Henry's spell stood out for its precision and its immediate impact on the scorecard, and the fact that all three wickets fell in a single over meant India were under severe strain from the first delivery. Henry is reported to have a strong record against India, a point that added to the significance of his performance in the match.
The fourth ODI was played at the Bay Oval, the venue that hosted this stage of the series. The result leaves India facing questions about their top order and their preparation against a New Zealand attack that dominated from the outset. The dismissals of three senior batters in quick succession have drawn attention to how quickly the visitors' innings unravelled, and to how little opportunity there was for any recovery once the opening over had been completed.
Clips of the dismissals have circulated online, showing the wickets falling in rapid sequence. The footage has highlighted the speed of the collapse, though the reporting available does not provide further technical analysis of how each batter was dismissed. Henry's own account of the collapse has not been confirmed in the sources available, and no further detail on the sequence of deliveries has been published beyond the scorecard and match coverage.
The match result carries weight for both sides in the series. For New Zealand, a 244-run victory in a fourth ODI underlines a dominant performance in the series, built on a bowling attack that exploited the conditions and India's early vulnerability. For India, the collapse to 89 raises immediate questions about team selection, batting order and the ability of the top three to withstand an opening spell of that quality. The sources do not indicate what changes, if any, the Indian team management has announced in response.
Source: skysports.com
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