India beat New Zealand by four runs on DLS in Wellington as Gurnoor Brar's 4/30 sets up a 2–0 series lead

Daryl Mitchell was the only batter to hold firm. His 55 from 104 balls, with five fours and two sixes, was an innings of patience in a stop-start day. With Mitchell Santner, who made 31 from 38, he added 59 for the sixth wicket after the hosts had slipped to 53 for five, losing Tom Latham and Glenn Phillips at the same score.

That stand took New Zealand to 112, a recovery of sorts. Then Mitchell fell trying to hit Axar Patel for six, and the rest went quickly: the last four wickets fell for 22 runs. Axar's nine overs cost only 28, and he picked up the important wicket of Mitchell. Even Arshdeep Singh, who took no wicket, went for just 16 from seven overs.

A short chase that nearly went wrong

A target of 135 from 47 overs should have been routine. It was not. Jacob Duffy removed Shubman Gill for a duck in the second over and Virat Kohli for seven in the fourth, and India were 17 for two. Rohit Sharma answered a barrage of short balls with attacking pull shots in his 23 from 28, before edging Kyle Jamieson to slip.

Shreyas Iyer's 30 from 46 and KL Rahul's unbeaten 26 from 38, batting at No. 6, kept the chase moving. When Iyer fell to Jamieson off the last ball of the 20th over at 86 for five, India still needed 49. Naman Dhir made a brisk 12 before going in the deep, and Kamboj followed cheaply. At 111 for seven, New Zealand were well into the tail, with Duffy and Jamieson taking three wickets each.

Then the rain came back. India needed 22 more from 66 balls with three wickets in hand, and were four runs ahead of the DLS target when play was called off.

Why it matters

India were lucky with the timing, and they will know it. Losing seven wickets in pursuit of 135 is a warning for a top order that has now been tested twice in seam-friendly conditions. New Zealand, without the injured Devon Conway for the rest of the series, can take heart from how close they came with a small total.

The Duffy and Jamieson spells deserve credit. Each took three wickets for 35, and Jamieson's 10 overs included a maiden and went for only 3.5 an over, on a day when India's batters were hurrying to stay ahead of the rain. Nathan Smith's five wicketless overs for 19 kept the pressure up, and only Matt Fisher, who gave 23 from four, was expensive. New Zealand brought in Nick Kelly as Conway's replacement in the squad, and their top order will need more from Will Young and Tim Seifert after scores of six and nought here.

The extras tell a small story of their own. New Zealand's total included 11, of which six were wides, and Brar alone sent down four wides in his 10 overs, so there is some tidying up for India to do. Arshdeep Singh's control was a quiet strength: seven overs for 16 at 2.29 an over, without a wicket, gave the others room to attack.

Against that, the bowling looks in excellent shape. With a young attack that keeps taking wickets in New Zealand, India have options for the longer road towards the 2027 World Cup. The series now moves to Hamilton for the third match on 10 November, where India can seal it with two games to spare. The remaining games are at Mount Maunganui on 13 and 15 November.