Indian captain Rohit Sharma registered his first golden duck in 205 ODI innings as an opener during the fourth match against New Zealand. Matt Henry marked his return to the side by dismissing the veteran batter with the first delivery of India's chase at the Bay Oval on Friday, November 13.
The visitors won the toss for the fourth consecutive time in the series and chose to bowl. However, they missed several fielding chances as New Zealand posted 333 before being bowled out. Will Young top-scored with 125 runs off 108 balls, including 14 boundaries and four sixes, after being dropped twice early in his innings.
Matt Henry Dismisses Rohit Sharma for First-Ball Duck on ODI Comeback
Rohit Sharma fell to Matt Henry on the opening delivery of the chase. The New Zealand fast bowler bowled a short-of-good-length delivery, generating extra bounce and movement away from the right-hander.
Rohit tried to defend from the crease but got a thick outside edge, which Finn Allen caught safely at first slip with a dive to his left. The dismissal ended Rohit's 205-innings run without a golden duck as an ODI opener.
Rohit Sharma falls for a golden duck for the first time in 205 ODI innings as an opener for India. A week ago, Shubman Gill bagged his first golden duck in his ODI career. #INDvsNZ
— Lalith Kalidas (@lal__kal) November 13, 2026
It was also his second duck in three innings against New Zealand in the ongoing five-match series. The right-handed batter scored 23 runs off 28 balls during the second ODI.
Will Young Makes India Pay for Two Dropped Catches with Fifth ODI Century
Will Young made the most of two early reprieves to score 125 runs, his highest ODI score in the format. Rohit Sharma and wicketkeeper Ishan Kishan dropped him off Auqib Nabi's bowling when he was on five.
Young shared a 72-run partnership with Tim Seifert during the first Powerplay. Seifert brought up his maiden ODI half-century before Gurnoor Brar dismissed him. Young later added 90 runs with Finn Allen before Rohit took a sharp catch at cover to end his innings.
Young went on to reach his fifth ODI hundred, his first against India and his first in 24 innings. Mitchell Santner contributed 24 runs, Kristian Clarke scored 22, and Kyle Jamieson remained unbeaten on 19 to help the hosts cross the 300-run mark.
India pulled things back after the early partnerships and bowled New Zealand out . Axar Patel dismissed Nick Kelly, while Nabi removed Dean Foxcroft. Nabi, Brar and Axar claimed two wickets each, with Arshdeep Singh and Naman Dhir taking one apiece.
"Virat Came Up to Me and I Said…" - Will Young
Speaking after his knock, Will Young admitted that the dropped catches gave him some relief but also forced him to adjust his approach.
"The first one, obviously a little bit disappointed, but at the same time relieved. The second one, you just got to laugh it off," Young said. "Virat came up to me and I said, 'Have you ever been dropped twice in an over?' He laughs and said no, so just brush it off and next ball."
Young explained how he changed his approach after the missed chances, saying, "Yeah, I did actually notice that I was a little bit stuck on the crease after that, those two drops. I decided to walk at them and get my weight through the ball a bit more, and that seemed to work in my favour."
Also read: Gurnoor Brar gets into heated exchange with Tim Seifert, Virat Kohli intervenes in 4th ODI
