Matt Henry vs India: A familiar storyline awakens ghosts of the past

MOUNT MAUNGANUI: Seagulls began circling the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui in full force just as India were about to begin their run chase. Little did they know that they would soon be joined by flying ducks as Matt Henry ran through the visitors' top order, dismissing Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer in the very first over of India's innings.Henry needed just six deliveries to awaken the ghosts of the 2019 World Cup semifinal, sending back three right-handers for ducks. The only consolation for India seven years ago was that their top three -- KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli -- had at least managed to score one run each.

Chasing 334, India lost Rohit off the first ball. Rohit closed his bat face a bit early and was squared up, Kohli was cleaned up by a sharp in-dipper that kept a tad low, and India's stand-in skipper Iyer had no response to a delivery that jagged back sharply after pitching.

Using his magic length and dangerous wobble seam, Henry put India on the mat in the very first over. Spectators who had stepped out for a quick hydration and refuelling break were shocked when they looked at the scoreline on the giant screen, and some even started walking out with disappointment written all over their faces.They had come hoping to witness special knocks from Kohli and Rohit but would have to make peace with the long walks back to the dressing room.

And before they could settle back into their respective chairs or on the grass banks, Iyer joined the duck parade. Matters could have been worse had Nick Kelly held on to a regulation catch offered by Axar Patel off the first delivery he faced. Seeing Henry breathe fire, Kyle Jamieson soon joined the hunting pack, getting rid of Ruturaj Gaikwad as India lost four wickets inside the first 10 overs.

Henry was not done. He returned to the attack and struck immediately, ending Ishan Kishan's resistance with his very first delivery.

Bowling from round the wicket, the New Zealand pacer got one to jag back sharply from a good length. Ishan moved forward to defend but left a gap between bat and pad. The inside edge ricocheted onto the leg-stump, clipping the bail and ending his innings. The 34-year-old completed his five-wicket haul, his fourth in ODIs, with another display of his trademark nagging line and length and a hint of inward movement.

Henry got the ball to nip back in sharply. Kuldeep Yadav was late in getting forward, allowing the delivery to beat his inside edge and defence before crashing into the top of the off-stump.Matt Henry finished with his career-best figures of 6/27 as New Zealand hammered India by 244 runs.This was the third time India had suffered this unwanted feat in ODIs since 2018, and all three instances featured the common wreaker-in-chief: Henry. The fast bowler picked up two wickets when India lost four in Wellington in 2019, three during the World Cup semifinal at Old Trafford the same year, and continued with his habit at the Bay Oval.The pitch didn't change drastically when twilight set in, but the evening chill injected just enough life into the surface, which had looked very comfortable for batting during New Zealand's innings. More than the surface, Henry found the right spot from the word go and stuck to it with his wobble seam. The two turned out to be a deadly combination, yet again, and made India join the list of several unwanted firsts.

This was only the second time both Kohli and Rohit had registered ducks in an ODI and the first instance in which India lost three wickets without adding anything to the scoreboard.

It had happened only four times earlier in the history of one-day cricket.India would hope to forget those six deliveries like a horror dream and bounce back strongly when they return to the same venue for the fixture that will decide the series."45 minutes of bad cricket (in Kohli's words)" against an attack featuring the usual suspect, Henry, had "cost" India the semifinal back in 2019. This time, it took Henry only a few minutes to stamp his authority in a series he had missed due to a freak injury. The eventful over nicely sets up the final match and the Test series that follows. Henry vs India remains a very interesting storyline.Brief ScoresNew Zealand: 333 all out in 50 overs (Will Young 125, Finn Allen 41; Axar Patel 2/39, Auqib Nabi 2/59, Gurnoor Brar 2/69)India: 89 all out in 26.4 overs (Ishan Kishan 27; Matt Henry 6/27, Matthew Fisher 3/31)