The Niranjan Shah Stadium in Rajkot offered a surface that screamed for control through spin. It kept low on occasions and the New Zealand spinners showed how to tame the opposition if you continue to bowl at the right areas consistently. India walked in with two frontline spinners, a part-time option, and the lingering hole left by Washington Sundar’s injury. Out of those two spinners, one was Ravindra Jadeja, who has had one of the worst bowling averages (41.75) in ODIs since 2025. Mohammed Siraj has failed to strike with the new ball, while Prasidh Krishna can have his bad days as well.
New Zealand show India’s poor bowling
New Zealand, meanwhile, built their chase around exactly that issue with the Indian bowling. By the end of the night, after conceding a record 285-run chase on home soil, the frailties in India’s bowling were there to be seen. New Zealand chased down 285 with composure and authority, registering their highest successful chase in India, better than their 283 against England at the 2023 World Cup. It was also the first successful chase in five ODIs at Rajkot.
Michael Bracewell and debutant Jayden Lennox conceded 76 runs in 20 overs for two wickets. Glenn Phillips chipped in with three tight overs for 13. India’s frontline pair, Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav, went for 126 in 18 overs for a single wicket. Kuldeep’s figures, 10-0-82-1, summed up the evening. KL Rahul’s hundred had carried India to 284 on a tricky, two-paced surface.
Harshit Rana and Mohammed Siraj began brilliantly. At 46 for 2, India were ahead. Then Daryl Mitchell and Will Young happened. The 162-run partnership broke the contest open, neutralised Kuldeep completely, and kept New Zealand alive in the series.
Ryan ten Doeschate on bowling combination
At the post-match press conference, India assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate all but admitted the imbalance. He said that the team thought that Nitish Kumar Reddy will be useful on the Rajkot deck. However, they were left stunned with how New Zealand spinners operated. Ten Doeschate admitted that India could’ve done by adding another spinner.
“You know, to bring Ayush into the squad at the very last minute with Washi going down in the game, we thought Nitish should be better suited on this track,” he said. “And obviously, looking at the way the New Zealand spinners bowled, we could have done with another spinner tonight. But whenever we’re putting teams together, the main message is it’s what we put out there, not who we put out there.“
Nitish Kumar Reddy, drafted in as the sixth bowling option, delivered two overs of medium pace but wasn’t trusted ever again. If India is eyeing developing NKR as a pace-bowling all-rounder, he should be given more overs with the ball. Meanwhile, Ayush Badoni, the like-for-like spin option for Sundar, stayed on the bench.
