IND vs NZ: New Zealand Pacer Tim Southee Picks 200 ODI Wickets, Becomes Fifth Bowler To Achieve This Feat For Kiwis

New Zealand fast bowler Tim Southee became the fifth bowler for his country to take 200 wickets in One-Day Internationals. The pacer reached the milestone in the first ODI against India on Friday, November 25, as the Kiwis won by seven wickets to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series at Auckland’s Eden Park.

After being asked to bat, India finished strong, posting a competitive total of 306 runs in their 50 overs against the Black Caps. Shikhar Dhawan and Shubman Gill both scored half centuries, giving the team a solid start with their 124-run opening partnership. India’s top scorer Shreyas Iyer dominated the match with 80 runs off 76 balls, while Rishabh Pant and Suryakumar Yadav got out cheaply.

Sanju Samson’s decent knock of 36 off 38 balls and Washington Sundar’s fantastic finish with 37 off 16 balls at a strike rate of 231.25 and his firework in the death overs helped India surpass 300 runs. Lockie Ferguson and Southee each took three wickets, while Adam Milne also grabbed one.

In the match, Southee ended up with a spell of 3 wickets for 73 runs in his 10 overs. He had an economy rate of 7.30, but he took three crucial wickets of Indian captain Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer, and Shardul Thakur. Southee reached the landmark during the 25th over of India’s innings, when he picked out the wicket of Shikhar Dhawan, who batted brilliantly for his 72 runs off 77 balls.

Shikhar Dhawan’s dismissal made him the fifth New Zealand bowler to reach 200 ODI wickets, after Chris Cairns, Chris Harris, Kyle Mills, and Daniel Vettori. He also surpassed Cairns’ ODI wicket tally of 200, and he is just two wickets away from surpassing Chris Harris’ tally of 203 scalps. He is expected to become New Zealand’s third-highest ODI wicket-taker soon.

Tim Southee represented New Zealand in 149 ODIs, taking 202 wickets at an average of 33.83 and an economy rate of 5.44. His best bowling figures are 7/33.

Most ODI Wickets For New Zealand

Daniel Vettori – 297

Kyle Mills – 240

Chris Harris – 203

Tim Southee – 202

Chris Cairns – 200

Tom Latham smashed a career-best 145 runs off 104 balls, and skipper Kane Williamson scored an unbeaten 94 as New Zealand chased down a target of 307 to beat India by seven wickets in the first one-day international. Debutant Umran Malik picked up two wickets for 66 runs, and Shardul Thakur took one wicket.

Also read: IND vs NZ: “With The Two New White Balls, You Do Need To Build A Base At The Top, They Set An Exceptional Platform” – Mitchell McClenaghan Heaps Praise On Indian Openers