India set target of 261 to win series

New Zealand 260 for 7 (Guptill 72, Williamson 41, Mishra 2-41) v India Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details

New Zealand, assessing the slow, dry Ranchi surface tactfully, exploited the field restrictions and ran away to a 96-run opening stand off 93 balls, but India’s spinners hit back to limit them to 260 for 7. Martin Guptill led the way with 72 off 84 balls, his second half-century of the tour, before the sluggishness set in: the visitors managed all of three boundaries in the last ten overs, one of which came off the final ball of the innings. Still, with New Zealand needing to win to keep the series alive, the surface and the fact that they had picked three spinners gave them a fighting chance.

As the New Zealand’s innings progressed, the odd ball kept low while several stopped on the batsmen. A couple of grubbers even raised a puff of dust from the surface. The nature of the pitch put in perspective Guptill’s early assault, after New Zealand won their first toss of the tour in their eighth match. He didn’t always look pretty, but bent India’s attack out of shape in the Powerplay.

The first over from Umesh Yadav, a maiden, which contained a bouncer …

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