RANCHI, India: New Zealand beat India by 19 runs in the fourth One-day International (ODI) to level the five-match series at 2-2 as the hosts suffered a mid-innings collapse at Ranchi on Wednesday.
Chasing 261 for a series clinching win, India were all out for 241 with eight balls to spare.
Opener Ajinkya Rahane’s fluent 57 put India on course for the chase and the right-handed batsman added 79 for the second wicket with the in-form Virat Kohli (45).
India looked firmly in the driver’s seat when Rahane and captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (11) were batting but then they lost five wickets for just 39 runs which put paid to their hopes of bagging the series with a match to spare.
Seamer James Neesham dismissed Rahane and Dhoni in successive overs and paceman Tim Southee (3-40) picked up two wickets in consecutive deliveries as India were reduced from 128-2 to 167-7 in the space of a few overs.
Axar Patel (38) and Amit Mishra (14) added 38 for the eighth wicket while tailenders Dhawal Kulkarni (25 not out) and Umesh Yadav added 34 for the last wicket to take India close but their efforts were not enough.
Earlier, openers Martin Guptill (72) and Tom Latham (39) gave New Zealand a brisk start after the visiting captain Kane Williamson won the toss and opted to bat on a slow surface.
Score Board
New Zealand won toss
New Zealand
M J Guptill c Dhoni b Pandya 72
T W M Latham c Rahane b Patel 39
*K S Williamson c Dhoni b Mishra 41
L R P L Taylor run out 35
J D S Neesham c Kohli b Mishra 6
†B J Watling c Sharma b Kulkarni 14
A P Devcich c Pandya b Yadav 11
M J Santner not out 17
T G Southee not out 9
Extras (lb 3, w 13) 16
Total (7 wickets; 50 overs) 260
Did not bat: T A Boult, I S Sodhi
Fall: 1-96, 2-138, 3-184, 4-192, 5-217, 6-223, 7-242
Bowling: Yadav 10-1-60-1 (3w); Kulkarni 7-0-59-1 (1w); Pandya 5-0-31-1 (8w); Mishra 10-0-42-2 (1w); Patel 10-0-38-1; Jadhav 8-0-27-0
India
A M Rahane lbw b Neesham 57
R G Sharma c Watling b Southee 11
V Kohli c Watling b Sodhi 45
*†M S Dhoni b Neesham 11
A R Patel b Boult 38
M K Pandey c Latham b Southee 12
K M Jadhav lbw b Southee 0
H H Pandya c Latham b Santner 9
A Mishra run out 14
D S Kulkarni not out 25
U T Yadav c Taylor b Boult 7
Extras (lb 3, w 9) 12
Total (all out; 48.4 overs) 241
Fall: 1-19, 2-98, 3-128, 4-135, 5-154, 6-154, 7-167, 8-205, 9-207, 10-241
Bowling: Southee 9-0-40-3; Boult 9.4-1-48-2 (2w); Neesham 6-0-38-2 (2w); Santner 10-0-38-1 (1w); Sodhi 10-1-52-1; Devcich 4-0-22-0 (3w)
Result: New Zealand won by 19 runs
Series: 5-match series levelled by 2-2
Man of the Match: M J Guptill (NZ)
Umpires: A K Chaudhary and B N J Oxenford (Australia). TV umpire: C K Nandan. Match referee: R B Richardson (West Indies)