After coming close on three occasions to beat India in the ongoing tour, New Zealand were finally able to cross the line and taste victory as they defeated the Men in Blue by four wickets in the first ODI at the Seddon Park on Wednesday. Seasoned campaigner Ross Taylor anchored New Zealand”s chase of 348 by scoring a brilliant hundred. He was well supported by Henry Nicholls and stand-in captain Tom Latham as the hosts took a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
The Black Caps started off the chase on a cautious note as both Martin Guptill and Nicholls played with intent. Such was the determination from Guptill (32) that he scored just two boundaries in 41 balls before getting out to Shardul Thakur on the team score of 85.
Debutant Tom Blundell, who came in first down, didn”t have a great outing and was stumped by K.L. Rahul at his individual score of 9. At that point of time, the match appeared to be heading in India”s favour.