Put in to bat first, the Men in Blue posted 306/7 on the scoreboard in their allotted 50 overs, thanks to the half-centuries from Shreyas Iyer (80 off 76), Shikhar Dhawan (72 off 77) and Shubman Gill (50 off 65).
In reply, the Blackcaps raced to the target in 47.3 overs with 15 balls to spare. They faced early blows, having been reduced to 88/3, but the record stand between captain Kane Williamson (94 not off 98) and Tom Latham (145 not out 104) took them to the finish line.
This was New Zealand’s 13th successive victory in ODIs at home – a new record streak. Earlier, they won 12 consecutive one-day games at home from January to December 2015.
After the record win, Williamson praised Latham for his knock and also revealed that spinners played a big role in this day-night fixture.
“At the halfway stage I thought it was a competitive total. The wicket was starting to turn a bit. And the cross-seamers got a bit out of it. But as we know on this ground if you build partnerships you can chase anything. Incredible knock by Latham. Absolutely on fire. It was a very good wicket. Spin played a big role as we saw. Nice to get a win. When we started seeing it turn like it did, you think of a number of things. But I thought the seamers did a very good job,” said Williamson.
List of records set by Latham and Williamson in the Auckland ODI
- Highest individual score for New Zealand versus India
Latham’s unbeaten 145 is the highest individual score by a New Zealander in an ODI against India. The southpaw surpassed former opener Nathan Astle, who hit 120 in Rajkot back in 1999.
- Highest-ever partnership for New Zealand versus India
The unbroken 221-run stand between Latham and Williamson is the now highest-ever partnership for New Zealand against India in ODIs.
Previously, Latham and Ross added 200 runs for the fourth-wicket at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai in 2017.
- Joint-fastest century at the Eden Park
With his 76-ball hundred, Latham also equaled the record for the fastest ODI ton at the Eden Park in Auckland. Former Sri Lanka opener Sanath Jayasuriya achieved the same feat against New Zealand in 2001.
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