The slower ball has become an integral weapon for any pace bowler worth his salt, and the remarkable wickets produced by the change-up must feature in the highlights reel of Indian cricket in the 21st century. Zaheer Khan to Michael Hussey. Jasprit Bumrah to Shaun Marsh. Harshal Patel to Aiden Markram. Add Harshit Rana to Henry Nicholls to that exclusive club, for his partnership-breaking floater on the tramline was meritorious enough. His variation not only chopped the first 100-plus opening stand for New Zealand away from home since 2019, but also paved the way for a tight squeeze in the middle phase.
Six out of Nicholl’s eight boundaries came square on the leg side, two of those at the very beginning of Harshit’s second spell as New Zealand looked to force the issue after taking just 11 runs off overs 16 to 18. The consecutive boundaries were leaked from a short length, and having notched up his first 50-plus score in seven ODI innings in India, Henry seemed to be acing the makeshift role at the top of the order on comeback trail. His red-hot form in domestic one-dayers for Canterbury – two centuries in five Ford Trophy matches – rendered him the ideal man for the acceleration job.
In most cases it needs a brainwave, a piece of genius, an exhibition of sorcery to dislodge a well-set batter, and Harshit managed to deliver the goods under pressure. The shocking change in line and trajectory owing to the 113kmph off-cutter sucked Henry into reaching for the ball without an iota of balance, as Rahul dived forward to catch the deflection off the toe end of his bat.
India’s happiness knew no bounds when Harshit removed the other opener in his next. A globe-trotting freelancer of the modern game, Devon Conway faces the challenge of adjusting his technique every now and then to cater to the demands of different formats. His hands used to flail away from his body and then return to the desired position before bringing the bat down, leading to premature interception points as well as a closed face at the point of impact. Work was done behind the scenes, for his mellifluous driving in the PowerPlay was the definition of technical soundness, particularly the mere push that bisected extra cover and mid-on. Harshit set him up with three slower balls in an over only to crank up the speed gun as a thunderbolt recorded at 142kmph made mincemeat of the stumps via an inside edge.
Mohammed Siraj plucked a leaf out of his junior’s book, getting rid of Will Young with a slow bumper in his attempt to manufacture an upper cut. The pitch in Vadodara was a collection of cracks, as evinced by the scooting Washington Sundar delivery in the ninth over itself, so India deserve the plaudits for assessing the conditions quickly and taking the pace off the ball. Even Kuldeep Yadav looped it up to see the back of Glenn Phillips, his dismissal leaving New Zealand at 170/4 in the 34th after cruising to 104 for no loss in 20 overs. As per the revised playing norms, the fielding team chooses one of the two balls that they were operating with to employ at each end from overs 35 to 50. The effect on reverse swing was captured soon, with Prashid Krishna castling Michael Hay thanks to the barbaric deviation.
India also picked up the slack in the latter half of the innings following a horror show on the park in the earlier exchanges. Charging in from long-on, Shreyas Iyer inflicted a direct hit to run out Michael Bracewell, the clutch performer in a nearly-successful chase in Hyderabad three winters ago, to deny Daryl Mitchell a shoulder of support. His busy 84 was the latest embellishment to a series of noteworthy contributions – 130, 134, 63 – in ODIs versus India. He outwitted Prasidh at the fag end, scooping him first ball for a boundary and anticipating an into-the-surface riposte that was duly clobbered over mid-wicket.
Harshit, on the flipside, aced the penultimate over with a smart concoction of inch-perfect yorkers and slower balls served with four men protecting the almighty heave. The Indian quicks tallied 6/165 from 27 overs, with all the wickets coming in the eventual 15 of that figure. Harshit did rush Nicholls on the cut with the new ball but Kuldeep could not form a stable base at third man to grab the opportunity. The culprit was given a taste of his own medicine when Conway’s sweep fell directly on the advertising cushions with Washington being a dozen metres inside the 67m boundary. Considering the fact that the match went down to the wire, it would be safe to conclude that the excellent pullback – 108/5 in overs 21 to 40 – orchestrated glory for the hosts.
The confidence Harshit derived from his bowling exploits spilled over into the pursuit as his vibrant 29 eased the burden on KL Rahul after Kyle Jamieson struck thrice in a matter of seven balls including big fish Virat Kohli. This is India’s eighth straight win over New Zealand in ODIs since 2023, whereas the Kiwis lost an ODI fixture after nine victories in a row post Champions Trophy 2025.
‘’We can be proud of our effort. We pushed the number one team in the world right until the second-last over and put them under pressure, which is always pleasing. Of course, there are a few areas we’ll want to tidy up, and if we’d managed another 20 or 30 runs – something closer to 320 or 330 – it could have been a very different game,’’ said skipper Bracewell.
‘’I thought our batting group showed plenty of experience and composure, but if we’d just found a few more runs at the back end, we really could have made it interesting. We talk a lot about creating match-changing moments, and while we did some things well today, there were one or two chances we’d look back. Catching under lights in India it’s never easy, but we set ourselves very high standards and that’s something we’ll keep pushing.’’
Roger that, Indian outfielders!
