IND vs NZ 2nd ODI: Gurnoor Brar's 4 for 30 Seals Four-Run DLS Win in Wellington

India go 2-0 up after a rain-hit thriller

The IND vs NZ 2nd ODI ended with India beating New Zealand by four runs under the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method at Hnry Stadium in Wellington on 7 November 2026. Rain delayed the start and cut the contest to 47 overs a side. New Zealand were then bowled out for 134 in 41 overs. India were 113 for 7 in 26 overs, chasing 135, when rain returned. They were four runs above the DLS par score — reported as 109 by Sportstar — and that was enough.

The win gives India a 2-0 lead in the five-match series after their five-wicket DLS victory in the 1st ODI at Eden Park. Full scores sit on our New Zealand vs India ODI series 2026 results page. For the pre-match picture, including Conway's absence, see our 2nd ODI preview.

How Brar and India's seamers restricted New Zealand to 134

Shubman Gill won the toss and asked New Zealand to bat on a two-paced surface that ESPNcricinfo later described, via Daryl Mitchell, as being "like batting on a trampoline." Extra and uneven bounce, plus seam movement, made scoring through the gaps unusually hard.

Auqib Nabi struck twice early. Tim Seifert, who scored a duck, chipped the first ten scoreless balls of the innings to short midwicket — Nabi's maiden international wicket, as reported by Sportstar and Cricbuzz. Will Young then pushed at one outside off and fell for 6, KL Rahul taking the catch behind the stumps. Anshul Kamboj had Henry Nicholls play on for 11, and New Zealand were 23 for 3.

Mitchell and Tom Latham added a watchful 30 off 64 balls before Brar changed the match in the 20th over. Bowling over the wicket and angling across, he drew a top-edged pull from Latham, then dismissed Glenn Phillips for a duck with a similar short ball that jagged back and took the top edge. New Zealand were 53 for 5.

Mitchell was the only New Zealand batter to build an innings, finishing with 55 off 104 balls (five fours and two sixes). Gill spilled him on 21 at cover off Kamboj, a miss noted by Sportstar, Cricbuzz and ESPNcricinfo. Cricbuzz added that it was Mitchell's seventh fifty-plus score in his last nine ODIs against India. Captain Mitchell Santner looked the most comfortable of the home batters in a 59-run sixth-wicket stand, making 31 off 38.

That partnership ended when Mitchell, who had scored only 10 off 26 balls from Axar Patel, charged and was caught at long-off. Santner struck Brar for six but edged the next phase of short-pitched bowling to the keeper. Axar then bowled Kyle Jamieson, Brar removed Nathan Smith, and Kamboj bowled Blair Tickner for 2 to close the innings at 134. Tickner had been struck on the helmet by a Kamboj bouncer earlier and was later ruled out of the rest of the match; Matt Fisher came in as concussion substitute.

Brar finished with a career-best 4 for 30 from 10 overs and was named Player of the Match. Nabi took 2 for 31, Kamboj 2 for 25 and Axar 2 for 28.

A chase of 135 that never felt safe

India's reply began in the same difficult conditions. Jacob Duffy dismissed Gill for a golden duck with the first ball of his spell, the captain edging to second slip. Virat Kohli drove a four through cover, then was early into another cover drive and holed out to cover for 7. According to The Statesman, India were 17 for 2 inside four overs.

Rohit Sharma provided the early momentum ESPNcricinfo highlighted: 20 of his 23 runs came in boundaries, including two sixes off Jamieson, before he edged to slip for 23 off 27. Axar fell for 7, attempting a ramp off Fisher, and India were 47 for 4.

Shreyas Iyer (30 off 46) and Rahul then added 39 for the fifth wicket. Iyer's innings included four boundaries and a six; Rahul struck a four and a six off Nathan Smith and later a top-edged six off Duffy that took India past 100. Jamieson broke the stand with a sharp bouncer that removed Iyer, leaving India 86 for 5.

Naman Dhir made 12 before Tim Seifert held him at deep backward square leg off Duffy, the third umpire confirming Seifert's foot was not touching the rope. Kamboj then fell for 1, swinging at a length ball, and India were 113 for 7 after 26 overs — still 22 short of the original target, but four runs above DLS par. Rain arrived without much warning. Cricbuzz reported that play was briefly lined up as a 37-over chase with a revised target of 133, before more rain forced the match to be called off.

Jamieson and Duffy finished with identical figures of 3 for 35. Rahul was unbeaten on 26 off 38 balls, with two fours and two sixes. ESPNcricinfo noted that 78 of India's 113 runs came in boundaries, and that 15 of the match's wickets fell to fast bowlers.

What the result means before Hamilton

Gill told Sportstar after the match that bowling New Zealand out for 134 had looked like an easy chase that never was: "It wasn't easy batting. Getting them out at 134, I thought it'll be an easy target, but it wasn't. Happy we got there in the end." He also praised Brar's pace and bounce as the tall seamer gains experience.

Brar, speaking at the presentation, said he enjoyed the extra bounce and pace in New Zealand compared with flatter pitches in India and tried to bowl to his strengths. Mohammed Siraj had joined the squad in Wellington before this match; whether India change a winning seam attack is a question for Hamilton.

The series now moves to Seddon Park for the 3rd ODI on Tuesday, 10 November 2026 (3:00 pm local, 7:30 am IST). India sit 2-0 up with three matches still to play.

Sources: ESPNcricinfo match report (India 113/7 in 26 overs beat New Zealand 134 in 41 overs by four runs on DLS; Duffy and Jamieson 3 for 35 each; Brar 4 for 30); Cricbuzz match report (Nabi's early wickets, 53 for 5 after Brar's double-wicket over, concussion substitute Fisher, DLS interruption details); Sportstar and The Statesman for Player of the Match, individual scores and post-match comments. Figures above are from those reports, not estimates.