Slow start comes back to haunt India as their 306 is overhauled with 17 balls in hand by the hosts
Scorer: Chandan Duorah | Commentator: @himanshu_a30
On a small ground and with exactly five bowling options, 306 always looked short; and Latham's execution made us believe India were far, far away from what was par. It was an enjoyable innings in the end, putting into oblivion three half-centuries from India's batters and a special finishing act from Sundar. We now head to Hamilton, where the visitors must win to remain alive in the series. Until then, it is goodnight and goodbye from Raghav, Chandan, Hemant and me, Himanshu!
Deepankar DM: "All things considered, we have witnessed one of the best"
Tristan : "Kane knows many 100s are to come. He's not worried. Better let the chap having a worldie have more strike in this game. Legend"
Williamson still has only half a smile on his face: "It was a competitive total. If you build partnerships here at Eden Park, you can chase anything. Incredible innings from Tom Latham. On these drop-in pitches, you bowl full and straight, and it can be difficult. It was one of the most special ODI knocks I have seen. You are always in the game with the dimensions. Spin played a big role today. The seamers did an excellent job. There were moments when we put them under pressure. Nice to make a contribution, and with Tommy going the way he was, it was about complementing."
Dhawan speaks after the result: "We felt good with the total. The ball was seaming in the first 15 overs. This ground is a bit different than other grounds. We bowled a lot on a short of a length, and Latham attacked. We misfielded on a few balls. But as I said, we were quite short to Latham, and that's where he took the game away. He hit four boundaries in the 40th over, and that's where the game shifted. Surely lots of learning for the boys."
No prizes for guessing, Latham is the Player of the Match: "Just one of those days when everything comes off. Having a bit of fun in the end... It was nice to put the ball in the gaps and run hard. I guess the preparation has been nice... Washington Sundar was getting a bit of turn. Small ground, so you can capitalise in the end. Nice partnership with Kane, who played beautifully."
10.20pm New Zealand needed 144 off the last 18 overs, and they got it with 17 balls left. Latham was on 36 off 43 at that stage; he ends on 145* off 104 in the end. A career-best knock that makes the opposition bowling look ordinary. Williamson plays a selfless part - he never looked rushed despite coming so close to a century - as Latham wiped India out of the game at will.
Two to win. Arshdeep is back from around the wicket, with six men inside the circle.
Neil: "This is annoyingly selfless from Williamson. He's had a bit of a drought, has a good shot at scoring a ton, but choses to feed strike to the form batsman instead"
Adarsh: "Latham's 150 is looking more likely than Williamson's 100"
He stuck to his strengths, took the game deep, and peppered short boundaries to ease New Zealand to victory
He also scored a record 65.6% of the runs made during an unbroken stand of 221 with Kane Williamson
Slow start comes back to haunt India as their 306 is overhauled with 17 balls in hand by the hosts
With many candidates for the final fifteen, the challenge for the hosts is to get their combinations right between now and the tournament
Kane Williamson has played only six ODIs since the previous World Cup, while India are missing a lot of their regular players
