Mount Maunganui: Opener Will Young exploited India’s bowling and fielding frailties to compile a well-structured 125, but the tourists made a late comeback to restrict New Zealand to 333 in the fourth ODI Friday.
India currently lead the five-match series 2-0 after the third ODI was abandoned due to rain.
Young and his opening partner Tim Seifert (58, 48 balls) gave an excellent start to the home team on a batting-friendly deck, adding 85 runs in 12 overs.
Seifert was the lead act in this stand, bringing up his maiden ODI half century in 41 balls.
The powerful right-hander was severe on pacer Gurnoor Brar, whom he carted for 6, 4, 4 and later punished Auqib Nabi for two fours in a row.
At the other end, Young made a slow start and was fortunate to get two reprieves in as many balls.
On 5, he was dropped by Rohit Sharma at first slip and then by stumper Ishan Kishan off Nabi in the fifth and last ball of the second over.
Young was focused enough to make the tourists pay for these lapses.
But Seifert’s departure, caught by Kishan off Brar, brought about a change in Young’s approach.
The right-hander’s aggressive instinct got a fillip, and he showcased it with a ferocious pull to the fence off Brar.
Axar Patel, who sent back Nick Kelly with a well-flighted delivery, bowled an exemplary line conceding just 39 runs in 10 overs.
But the other two spinners — Kuldeep Yadav and Naman Dhir — were profligate, and kept bowling in the hitting arc of Young and Finn Allen.
Kuldeep spun the odd delivery but largely looked flat and Allen knocked him around for 4, 4, 6. The left-arm wrist spinner largely conceded more than nine runs an over in this outing.
Young, who reached his fifty in 49 balls, fetched his next fifty in 39 balls, and smoked a six each off Brar and Kuldeep.
The precise use of feet against spinners was a standout feature of his innings, evidenced by that inside-out maximum over covers off Kuldeep. At that stage, New Zealand were poised to pile a total over 350.
But Young departed when he swept Dhir straight to substitute Kumar Kushagra in the deep and the Indian bowlers managed to keep the Kiwis in check from 256 for five.
In fact, the last 10 overs produced only 68 runs for the hosts.
Skipper Mitchell Santner’s quick 24 helped the home side cross 300 but it looks a bit underwhelming on a still stable surface.
