India draws level with six-wicket victory

India's bowling attack was made to look ordinary by Tom Latham and Ross Taylor a couple of nights ago in the first One-Day International in Mumbai. It was a wake-up call of sorts for an attack that has got used to running through oppositions with ease over the past few months.

New Zealand's promising start was nipped in the bud on Wednesday (October 25), with the Indian bowlers coming back strongly to help the team register a six-wicket win and make it 1-1 in the three-match series. On a slow and dry track at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune, Bhuvneshwar Kumar led the charge with 3 for 45 to restrict the visiting side to 230 for 9 in 50 overs, before the batsmen chased the target down with a solid 232 for 4 in 46 overs.

Half-centuries from Shikhar Dhawan and Dinesh Karthik, and a handy contribution from Hardik Pandya, helped make it a straightforward pursuit in the end.

At the beginning of the chase, Rohit Sharma tapped an easy catch to Colin Munro at short midwicket to hand New Zealand the early breakthrough it was desperately after. But with the 25,746 people in attendance egging them on, Dhawan and Virat Kohli decided to launch a counter-attack, foiling New Zealand's plans of capitalising on the situation.

The short ball didn't work for New Zealand at all. Every time Tim Southee or Trent Boult tried a bouncer at Dhawan or Kohli, it either didn't rise up or just wasn't quick enough to trouble the batsmen. In fact, they went for runs, helping India diffuse the pressure of Rohit's early exit.

Dhawan and Kohli got India to 79 before the latter nicked a wide cross-seam delivery from Colin de Grandhomme to Latham behind the stumps.

Karthik, India's latest experiment at the No. 4 position, then joined Dhawan to take the chase forward. The duo approached the task with caution, taking the total past 100 by the 20th over and continuing to chip away at the target.

Dhawan whacked Southee for a six over long-on to bring up the 50-run partnership, thereby dragging the required runs down to under 100. Dhawan hit five fours and two sixes in his knock of 68 off 84 balls, which ended with Taylor catching him off Adam Milne when the batsman tried to force a big shot over long-off.

A few quick wickets could have made things interesting at that stage. But Karthik and Pandya had other plans, keeping the scoreboard ticking during their fourth-wicket stand of 59 off 65 that all but sealed the deal for India. Pandya fell for 30 off 31, but Karthik, who finished unbeaten on 64 off 92, partnered Mahendra Singh Dhoni to make sure there were no further hiccups.

In the afternoon, after Kane Williamson chose to bat, New Zealand got off to a shaky start, losing Martin Guptill in the third over. Williamson had another disappointing outing, being trapped lbw by Jasprit Bumrah soon after Guptill's exit.

One wicket led to another, and Munro, opening the innings for only the second time in his career, was bowled by Bhuvneshwar for 10, which made it 27 for 3 in seven overs.

Taylor and Latham tried their best to repeat the heroics from the first game, but India had its plans in place this time around. Pandya surprised Taylor with a quick short delivery, and in an attempt to hook it away, the batsman ended up edging to Dhoni behind the stumps.

Latham and Henry Nicholls took charge with New Zealand in dire need of a big partnership. The two added 60 off 79 balls for the fifth wicket, but just when it looked like they could use the platform to build a strong total, Axar Patel took out Latham's stumps. Latham had used the sweep with great success in Mumbai, but it was the same stroke that spelt his doom here. It was a straighter one from around the wicket from Axar, and it deceived Latham just enough to sneak in from behind his legs.

Nicholls and Colin de Grandhomme tried to consolidate, but their short period of resistance lasted 52 balls, and both batsmen departed in quick succession at the death. Nichols scored 42 off 62 while de Grandhomme, more enterprising, ended with 41 off 40. Nicholls became Bhuvneshwar’s third victim, while de Grandhomme was sent back by Yuzvendra Chahal, who also accounted for Milne next ball for a duck.

Mitchell Santner (29 in 38) and Southee (25 not out in 22) resisted till the end but with the Indian bowlers not giving away any easy runs, New Zealand had to settle for a below-par total.

Bhuvneshwar's effort was the best among the Indian bowlers, while Bumrah and Chahal bagged two wickets each.

The teams will now travel to Kanpur for the deciding third encounter on Sunday.