AUCKLAND: Tom Latham and Kane Williamson stitched a record fourth-wicket partnership to guide New Zealand to a seven wicket victory against India at Eden Park in Auckland.
The first ODI of the three match series saw multiple records being broken after the Kiwi duo of Latham and Williamson hammered the Indian bowlers to share a 221-run stand.
New Zealand made a mockery of the chase as the left-hander remained unbeaten on 145 runs while the Kiwi captain carried his bat through, scoring 94 runs.
Debutant Umran Malik was the only positive from the second innings for India as the pacer accounted for two Kiwi batters and impressed with his pace.
Chasing the total, New Zealand got off to a breezy start with openers Finn Allen and Devon Conway finding boundaries from the word go.
India opened with debutant Arshdeep Singh who had a meteoric rise in cricket ever since he debuted for India’s T20 side. But the left-arm pacer failed to replicate his T20I heroics as he was taken to the cleaners by the Kiwi openers, concerning 25 runs in his first three overs.
All-rounder Shardul Thakur drew first blood as he dismissed Allen after sticking to the fourth-stump line. The batter poked at the ball and the inside edge was gobbled up by Pant behind the stumps.
Kiwi captain Kane Williamson walked onto the crease at number three eager to answer with his bat amidst criticism for his batting in the recently concluded T20 World Cup.
The right-hander got together with Conway to stitch a 33-run partnership for the second wicket. Conway struggled for timing after hitting the initial boundaries and looked very scratchy in his brief stay that was ended by debutant Umran Malik.
Malik scalped his maiden ODI wicket in the 16th over and reduced the Kiwi team to 68/2 in 15.1 overs. The Srinagar-born speedster struck again in the 20th over to put India ahead in the game. Malik dismissed Daryl Mitchell for 11 off 16 balls.
India seemed to be ahead of their Kiwi opponents but Williamson shared a match-winning fourth-wicket partnership with left-hander Tom Latham to see his side through.
The duo clobbered the inexperienced bowling attack all over the park. While Latham played the role of the aggressor, Williamson played second fiddle keeping the scoreboard ticking. Right-hander Williamson secured his fifty in the 29th over after he pulled pacer Shardul Thakur for a four, finding form after his World Cup debacle.
Latham reached his hundred in the 40th, where he smashed four boundaries and a six, absolutely bludgeoning Thakur.
The Kiwi team reached the target with almost three overs to spare.
Earlier, a late flourish from Washington Sundar and sublime batting performances from other batters helped India post a daunting total of 306/7 against New Zealand at Eden Park in Auckland on Friday.
Top knocks from Shreyas, Shikhar Dhawan and Shubhman Gill helped India get past the 300-run mark in the first ODI of the three-match series as India raked in 96 runs from the last 10 overs. Tom Latham was declared ‘Player of the Match’ for his sensational innings helping his team secure a win.
Brief Score: New Zealand 309/3 (Tom Latham 145*, Kane Williamson 94*; Umran Malik 2-66) vs India 306/7 (Shreyas Iyer 80, Shikhar Dhawan 72; Lockie Ferguson 3-59) (ANI)