New Zealand started brilliantly but failed to maintain their momentum. After winning the toss and opting to bat at the Dubai International Stadium, they got off to a solid start. In the first five overs bowled by Mohammad Shami and Hardik Pandya, the Kiwis reached 37 runs without losing a wicket. By the 10th over, they had posted 69 runs for the loss of just one wicket. However, Mitchell Santner’s team couldn’t capitalize on this promising start and ended their innings at 251/7 in 50 overs.
The real turning point came with India’s spinners, who completely disrupted New Zealand’s batting rhythm. Since no wickets fell in the first five overs bowled by Shami and Pandya, Indian captain Rohit Sharma introduced mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy as early as the sixth over. The decision paid off immediately, as Varun took a wicket in his second over.
From the 11th over onwards, Rohit unleashed a full-fledged spin attack from both ends. Varun Chakravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, and Axar Patel collectively bowled 33 consecutive overs, making life difficult for New Zealand’s batters.
During this 33-over phase, New Zealand managed to score only 115 runs while losing four wickets, maintaining a run rate of just 3.48. This was a stark contrast to their aggressive start, where they had scored at a rate of 6.90 runs per over in the first 10 overs.
India reverted to pace in the 44th over when Shami returned to the attack. He did pick up a wicket in his next over but also conceded 23 runs in his final two overs. Overall, India’s four spinners bowled a combined 38 overs, conceding 144 runs at an economy rate of 3.79 while taking five wickets. Meanwhile, the two pacers, Shami and Pandya, bowled 12 overs, conceding 104 runs. Shami finished with figures of 9-0-74-1, while Pandya remained wicketless, giving away 30 runs in three overs.
Despite struggling in the middle overs, New Zealand managed to finish on a positive note, adding 50 runs in the last five overs. Daryl Mitchell was the standout performer, scoring a team-high 63 runs off 101 balls, including three boundaries. However, their biggest star, Kane Williamson, failed to make an impact, managing just 11 runs off 14 balls.
