India Lead New Zealand ODI Series 2-0 Before Fourth Match

India led New Zealand 2-0 in their five-match one-day international series before the fourth match, scheduled for November 13 at Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui. The third ODI was abandoned because of rain, leaving India one win away from securing the series and New Zealand needing victories in both remaining matches to draw level.

India won the opening two matches, played in Auckland and Wellington. In the second, India secured a four-run victory under the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method after New Zealand were set a revised target. The washout in Hamilton on November 10 left the series score unchanged.

Shreyas Iyer was set to lead India in the fourth and fifth ODIs after Shubman Gill left the squad to prepare for the two-Test series, which is scheduled to begin November 19. KL Rahul and Anshul Kamboj also departed the ODI group, while Tilak Varma, Kumar Kushagra and Yash Thakur joined it. India’s fourth-match squad was reshaped as both teams made changes ahead of the Tests.

New Zealand also had players unavailable for the fourth ODI as they prepared for the Test series. Matt Henry and Kyle Jamieson were expected to remain with the ODI side for the match before joining the Test group....