New Zealand beat India by 4 wickets in the first ODI taking 1-0 lead in the 3-match series here at the Seddon Park on Wednesday.
Taylor 109 off 84 (10 four, 4 sixes), and Santner 12 off 9 with one four and one six remained not out chasing the target of 348 in 48.1 overs with 11 balls remaining.
Indian women's hockey end tour on a high; beat hosts New Zealand 3-0
Auckland, Feb 5 (UNI) A determined Indian Women's Hockey Team beat hosts New Zealand 3-0 to end their New Zealand Tour on a high.
Double goals by Navneet Kaur (45' & 58') and a goal by Sharmila (54') ended the New Zealand tour on a high.
Though India had begun the tour on a positive note, having won their first match 4-0 against the New Zealand Development Squad, the team had lost the following two matches 2-1 and 1-0 respectively to the New Zealand National Team.
In their previous match, however, Skipper Rani's lone goal had ensured India register a 1-0 win against Great Britain.
Playing their last match in the five-match Tour, India stuck to a disciplined structure, remained assertive in their attack and ensured a good finish without letting the pressure daunt their efforts to win.
Taylor was adjudged Man of the Match for his brillaint knock of 109 off 84 which included 10 four and 4 sixes.
New Zealand while chasing the target set off to a great start with openers Guptill and Nicholls adding 85 runs.
The hosts first wicket fell in form of Guptill at 1/85 in the 16th over when caught by Jadhav and bowled by Thakur at 32 off 41 with one four.
Afterr Guptill's departure Blundell came in and along with Nicholls further scored 24 runs for the second wicket, however, Blundell was stumped by Rahul and bowled by Kuldeep Yadav in 20th over losing their second wicket at 109. Blundell scored 9 off 10 with one four.
Then came 3rd wicket partnership between Taylor and Nicholls further adding 62 runs and 4th wicket stand between Taylor and Latham which took New Zealand closer towards the target with Taylor standing firm at the other end.
Towards the end of the innings Taylor and Santner remained not out taking New Zealand towards 4 wicket victory against India giving them 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
Earlier, New Zealand captain Tom Latham won the toss and invited India to bat first. Debutants openers Prithvi Shaw, Mayank Agarwal gave a decent start as India crossed the 50-run mark in their 8th over.
Shreyas Iyer, who came to bat at No 4, scored 103 off 107 balls. Apart from Iyer, KL Rahul (88 not out) and skipper Virat Kohli (51) made fine fifties and helped India post a mammoth total in Hamilton.
However, both Indian openers couldn't capitalise on their good start and got out in quick succession. Prithvi Shaw scored 20 runs off 21 balls while Mayank Agarwal departed for 32 off 31.
From there on, Captain Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer dominated the middle overs with a 102-run stand for the third wicket. They manoeuvred the field well and kept the scorecard ticking as India crossed 150 in the 28th over.
During the process, Virat Kohli also brought up his 58th half-century in 61 balls. But, he couldn't carry his innings longer and gave away his wicket right after slamming the fifty as Ish Sodhi went through the Indian skipper with a superb googly, leaving India to 156/3 after 29 overs.
After Kohli's wicket, KL Rahul joined Shreyas Iyer on the crease and he didn't let the innings lose any momentum and smacked six sixes along with three fours.
However, the day belonged to Iyer, who, despite a scratchy start, had crossed 50 off 66 balls. Once he passed the 50-run mark, the 25-year old batted fluently to notch up his first century in 16 ODIs.
Iyer fell shortly after his century caught off Southee in the bowling of Santner. Once Iyer got out, Rahul took control of the innings and reached his half-century off 41 balls as India eased past 300 in the 47th over.
In the end, the duo of Rahul-Kedar made 41 off the last 3 overs and led India to a huge total of 347-4 in 50 overs in the first ODI of the series.
Kedar Jadhav remained unbeaten on 26 off 15 balls, stitching 55 run stand off 27 balls with Rahul. This is also the third-highest total in Hamilton eve
For New Zealand Southee 2/85, Grandhomme 1/41 and Sodhi 1/27 were the wicket takers.
