India vs New Zealand 2nd ODI: Have the Kiwis cracked the Kuldeep Yadav code?

Once KL Rahul’s fine hundred had India scrambling out of a hole to set a target of 285, there was just one question hanging about the chase. Could Kuldeep Yadav create any sorcery on a relatively flat track to stop the New Zealanders? The magic, instead, came from Daryl Mitchell and his 162-run partnership with Will Young. Mitchell got his hundred, Young missed his ton by 11 runs, but they had thwarted India’s spin hope with clarity of thought and precise execution of plans.

New Zealand were relatively tied down to 64 for 2 in 15 overs of seam bowling, and it was expected they would try to up the ante against spin. India threw in Ravindra Jadeja first, and he had three overs before Kuldeep came in the 21st over. Spin from both ends and as it turned out, runs from both ends.

The action in the three off the first fours deliveries off Kuldeep set the tone of what was to come. What New Zealand’s plans were. Will Young reverse swept the second ball, albeit just for a single. Mitchell rushed down the track next ball to launch a six over cowcorner and went down on his knee next ball to paddle a four to fine-leg. It was crystal clear then how the two batsmen were going to go about it: use feet, not just down pitch but at times shuffle to off, or get down quickly to sweep, conventionally and reverse.

The pressure immediately was on Kuldeep. The pitch was flat. Not that there was any dew to hinder him, but in these parts of the country when the temperature cools down, the pitch flattens out, rather loses any sting. So, it was now upto whether Kuldeep could tease out a wicket by his guile.

Daryl Mitchell of New Zealand plays a shot during the 2nd ODI match between India and New Zealand at Niranjan Shah Stadium, Rajkot, India, on January 14, 2026. (CREIMAS for BCCI)

But such was the clarity in the plans of the New Zealand batsmen, it also raised an illusion that Kuldeep was bowling short. Even KL Rahul would urge him to flight it fuller. But he wasn’t always bowling short, but he was made to look like he was due to the batsmen. If they weren’t using their feet to go down, they were reversing. If they weren’t deploying the sweeps, they would walk across towards the off stump, and work Kuldeep easily into the gaps on either side. Kuldeep didn’t have an answer to that fluid plan in his first spell.

The chase hurtled on an autopilot almost and once again came a pivotal moment in the 34th over. After leaking 41 runs in his five-over first spell, Kuldeep was brought for another go. The equation read 113 to win from 102 balls, and both Mitchell were well past their fifties, making Kuldeep’s task that much tougher.

After a relatively quiet over on return, Young went for it off the first ball of Kuldeep’s second over. Again, brain over brawn. He shuffled outside leg this time, and threaded a ball on the stumps through the cover point region for a boundary. He reverse swept the next ball through backward point and through Jadeja for another four. Next ball, Jadeja swooped in for a pick-up-and-throw but missed a direct hit that would have had Mitchell, who gave another direct chance next ball. He miscued a fullish slider outside off to the left of long-on where Prasidh Krishna missed a regulation catch. Kuldeep hung his head down, wiping sweat off his forehead.

But he finally had something going his way off the last ball of the 38th over when a Young went for an almighty hack of a pull to a slowish googly, skying it to midwicket. One wicket leads to two, as that cricketing cliche goes, and it seemed to come alive when the umpire ruled Mitchell lbw next ball, the first of a fresh over from Mohammad Siraj. But replays confirmed Mitchell’s confident DRS call that there was a thick inside edge first. And that was that, really. Mitchell and Glenn Phillips eased into a nice rhythm, not taking any undue risks as they cut down the target.

Mitchell reached his hundred in the 42nd over with a push down the ground, revealed his shaven head, and punched the bat in glee, even as Virat Kohli clapped in respect.

In the ensuing few overs, Mitchell had time to pull off a couple of delightfully improvised shots. First came in the 43rd over, when he got ready for a lap-scoop pretty early in the piece against Siraj, who slipped in a slower one. But there was no Misbah-moment here; instead, Mitchell waited and lapped it up and over his and wicketkeeper’s head for a boundary.

Mitchell vs Kuldeep had one final slice of battle left, when the spinner came for his 10th in the 46th over of the chase. Off the fourth ball, he moved towards off side, got down on his knee and even though Kuldeep did his best to slow up his googly on the off stump line, Mitchell waited to lap it around the corner to untenanted fine-leg boundary.