Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir blamed India's fielding lapses for their 244-run defeat to New Zealand in the fourth ODI at Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui on Friday. Gautam Gambhir stated that the missed chances against Will Young, particularly Rohit Sharma's dropped catch, were a key moment in the contest.
Shreyas Iyer took over the captaincy from Shubman Gill ahead of the fourth ODI. The visitors won the toss and elected to field, but the hosts recovered from early setbacks to post 333 before bowling them out for 89 runs. Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan dropped Will Young in the same over of New Zealand's innings.
Gautam Gambhir Points to Rohit Sharma's Dropped Catch After India's Heavy Defeat
Auqib Nabi was unlucky after India failed to take two chances off the pacer's bowling in the second over. Rohit dropped the first opportunity at first slip when Young edged a good-length delivery outside off on the fifth ball.
The opener was batting on five at the time. Kishan then missed another chance off the next delivery. Young edged the ball low to the wicketkeeper's right, who attempted a full-length, one-handed dive but could not hold on despite getting a glove to it.
Speaking at the press conference, Gautam Gambhir spoke about the team's fielding errors and emphasized the need to be better prepared for challenging conditions.
"Even last game we were 7 down for 111 it is a bit of concern. We need to be mentally, skill wise ready. 35-40/0 is fine in conditions like these," Gautam Gambhir said.
"We have experience and can hopefully adapt in the last game. Auqib Nabi was unlucky, had we got Will Young it could have been different. There’s always hindsight. We dropped catches and will have to pay for it," Gautam Gambhir added.
Will Young Makes India Pay for Two Dropped Chances With Fifth ODI Century
Will Young made full use of his reprieves to register his fifth ODI century. He scored a career-best 125 off 108 deliveries, hitting 14 fours and four sixes. His dismissal in the 37th over left New Zealand at 256/5, but the hosts continued to add useful runs.
Tim Seifert scored 58 at the top of the order, while Finn Allen scored a quick 41 off 30 balls in the middle order. Contributions from the lower order helped New Zealand reach 333 before the final batter fell on the last delivery of the innings.
Auqib Nabi, Axar Patel, and Gurnoor Brar picked up two wickets each for the visitors. However, the missed chances proved costly, as Young's century and the contributions from the other batters gave New Zealand a strong total to defend.
Matt Henry Records His Career-Best 6/27 as India Bowled Out for 89
Matt Henry made an immediate impact on his return to ODI cricket, playing his first match in the format since November 2025. The fast bowler dismissed Rohit with the first ball of the innings before removing Virat Kohli and Iyer, all for ducks, to complete a triple-wicket maiden.
Henry continued to trouble the batting lineup and finished with career-best figures of 6/27 in 9.4 overs. Matthew Fisher supported him with 3/31 in seven overs, while Kyle Jamieson dismissed Ruturaj Gaikwad for five to leave the visitors in further trouble.
Only three Indian batters reached double figures. Kishan top-scored with 27, while Axar and Naman Dhir added 21 runs each. India were eventually bowled out for 89 in 26.4 overs, suffering one of their heaviest defeats in ODI cricket.
New Zealand remain in contention to level the five-match series. Although the hosts can no longer win it outright, they have an opportunity to make it 2-2 when the teams meet again at Bay Oval on Sunday.
