Mount Maunganui witnessed a scene of absolute carnage on Friday as the Bay Oval transformed into a graveyard for the Indian top order. In a display of pace bowling that will be discussed for years to come, New Zealand’s Matt Henry tore through the heart of the Indian batting lineup, leaving the visitors in a state of utter disbelief at 0/3 after the very first over of their chase.
Chasing a daunting target of 334 to stay competitive in the fourth ODI, India’s hopes rested on the seasoned shoulders of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, with captain Shreyas Iyer following at number three. What followed was an unprecedented six-ball sequence that saw all three elite batters return to the pavilion without troubling the scorers, marking the first time in Indian ODI history that the team has suffered such a catastrophic start.
Rohit Sharma falls to the first ball
The tone was set immediately. Matt Henry, swinging the new ball with devilish precision, started his spell from over the wicket. He delivered a ball of perfect length, angling across Rohit Sharma. The extra bounce caught the Indian skipper off guard; forced to play at the delivery, Rohit only managed to feather an outside edge into the gloves of Finn Allen at first slip.
A golden duck for the captain set the stadium ablaze, but the worst was yet to come. The dismissal sent a ripple of anxiety through the Indian dressing room, but few could have predicted the sheer speed of the collapse that followed.
Kohli cleaned up by inswinging beauty
Virat Kohli walked out to a chorus of cheers that were soon silenced by Henry’s masterful craft. Having showcased outswing to dismiss Rohit, Henry adjusted his length and line immediately. He brought the ball back sharply into the right-hander, angling it toward the middle stump.
Kohli, perhaps expecting the ball to continue its outward trajectory, failed to adjust his bat path. The ball skidded through the gap between bat and pad—a tell-tale sign of the low bounce on offer—and rattled the stumps. In just four balls, Kohli was back in the hut, and India was staring into the abyss at 0/2. The silence at the Bay Oval was deafening as the talismanic batter trudged off, his four-ball duck leaving the visitors reeling.
The final blow: Iyer trapped LBW
With the hat-trick ball looming, Shreyas Iyer faced the final delivery of the over. Henry, brimming with confidence and bowling with fire, landed a pinpoint yorker-length delivery that swung late into the pads. Iyer was caught flat-footed, attempting a defensive prod that failed to make contact.
Umpire Kumar Dharmasena initially shook his head at the raucous appeal from the Black Caps, but New Zealand captain Tom Latham immediately signaled for the review. As the big screen displayed the ball-tracking technology, the “three reds” confirmation flashed—middle stump was under threat. The on-field decision was overturned, and Iyer was gone for a first-ball duck.
Henry had accomplished the unthinkable: a triple-wicket maiden in the opening over of an ODI chase.
A historic low for the Men in Blue
The statistics emerging from this disaster are staggering. This match marks the fifth time in the history of ODI cricket that a team has lost their first three wickets for zero runs. India now joins an unwanted club that includes Pakistan (twice), Bangladesh, and Australia.
Furthermore, the sight of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli dismissed for ducks in the same innings is a rare occurrence. It has only happened once before, back in 2010 during a heated encounter against Sri Lanka in Dambulla—a match famously marred by the controversy surrounding Virender Sehwag being denied a century.
The road ahead
The sheer magnitude of the 334-run target now feels like a mountain turned into a fortress. For New Zealand, Matt Henry’s opening over will go down as one of the most clinical displays of fast bowling in the modern era. For India, the task is now one of damage control and historical soul-searching.
As the players headed for the drinks break, the focus shifted from the win to the sheer survival of the remaining lineup. The Bay Oval pitch, which looked like a batter’s paradise during the New Zealand innings, has proven to be a treacherous minefield under the lights. Whether India can manufacture a miracle from the ruins of 0/3 remains the primary question, but for now, the cricket world remains in a state of absolute shock.
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