Gurnoor Brar's 4 for 30 puts India 2-0 up in New Zealand after rain-hit Wellington ODI
Fast bowler Gurnoor Brar took 4 for 30 as India bowled New Zealand out for 134 and won the second ODI in Wellington by four runs on DLS to lead the five-match series 2-0.
India are 2-0 up in their five-match ODI series in New Zealand, and the man to thank this time is not a batting superstar but a young fast bowler named Gurnoor Brar. In a rain-hit, low-scoring second ODI at Wellington's Hnry Stadium on 7 November 2026, Brar took 4 for 30 from his 10 overs and was named Player of the Match. India won by four runs on the DLS method after the weather had the final say.
How the Wellington game played out
India won the toss and chose to bowl on a damp, tricky Wellington pitch. New Zealand never got going. Auqib Nabi removed Tim Seifert and Will Young early, Anshul Kamboj bowled Henry Nicholls, and the hosts were 23 for 3. Daryl Mitchell ground out 55 from 104 balls and captain Mitchell Santner added a brisk 31, but New Zealand were bowled out for 134 in 41 overs.
That is where Brar did his damage. He removed Tom Latham and Glenn Phillips in the same over, leaving New Zealand at 53 for 5, then came back to end the Santner resistance and finish off Nathan Smith. His 10 overs included two maidens and went at just three an over. Axar Patel chipped in with 2 for 28, including Mitchell.
A chase that got uncomfortably tight
A target of 135 looked like a stroll. It was not. Jacob Duffy had Shubman Gill caught for a first-ball duck and then removed Virat Kohli for 7, while Kyle Jamieson accounted for Rohit Sharma (23) and Shreyas Iyer, who top-scored with 30. Both New Zealand quicks finished with three wickets each, and India slipped to 111 for 7.
KL Rahul held firm with an unbeaten 26 off 38 balls, including two sixes. When the rain returned, India were 113 for 7 after 26 overs, four runs ahead of the DLS par score of 109. Play could not resume, and India took the game. Gill admitted after the match that the chase was far harder than the target suggested.
Brar's series so far
This was no one-off. Brar also took three wickets in the rain-affected first ODI in Auckland, which India won by five wickets on DLS.
For Indian fans, that matters. New Zealand's bouncy, seam-friendly tracks have often exposed Indian attacks, and India need bowlers who can use that bounce. Brar, with Kamboj, Nabi and Arshdeep Singh around him, gives India an all-pace look that suits these conditions.
What's next
The series moves to Hamilton for the third ODI. With a 2-0 lead, India need one more win to seal the series with two games to spare. The catch: the weather has already shaped both results, so the batters will want a full game to find some rhythm.
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