23 years after Javagal Srinath, Gurnoor Brar achieves rare Indian bowling feat in New Zealand

India’s Gurnoor Brar, center, celebrates with teammates after New Zealand’s Mitchell Santner’s goal Gurnoor Brar produced a memorable performance with the ball in the second ODI against New Zealand, recording the second-best bowling figures by an Indian fast bowler in ODIs in New Zealand. The young pacer returned to figures of 4/30 at the Hnry Stadium in Wellington, joining an elite list led by former India fast bowler Javagal Srinath.Brar’s impressive spell helped India bowl out New Zealand for just 134 in 41 overs in a rain-affected contest on Saturday. His efforts put him behind Srinath’s 4/23 recorded in Auckland in 2003 in the list of the best ODI bowling figures by an Indian pacer on New Zealand soil.The 29-year-old used his pace and bounce effectively to trouble the New Zealand batting line-up, especially in the middle overs. After Auqib Nabi and Anshul Kamboj burst into the game early, Brar took the lead with a double wicket, dismissing Tom Latham and Glenn Phillips off successive short deliveries.Latham was forced to reach for a wide bouncer and offered a catch while Phillips was caught off a delivery heading towards his body. Both wickets left New Zealand in motion at 53/5.Brar continued to trouble the hosts with his aggressive approach and finished with career best figures of 4/30. Nabi backed him with 2/31 from seven overs while Kamboj took 2/25 from eight overs. Arshdeep Singh also kept the pressure on with an economical spell of 0/16 in seven overs.New Zealand’s innings began to unravel in the opening over itself. Nabi removed Tim Seifert for a duck while Kamboj accounted for Will Young and Henry Nicholls as the hosts slumped to 29/3.Daryl Mitchell offered some resistance with a patient 55 off 104 deliveries, adding 59 runs with skipper Mitchell Santner making 31 off 38 balls. However, the partnership was not enough to prevent New Zealand being bowled out for a modest total.

Indian pacer’s best ODI bowling figures in New Zealand

FiguresBowlerVenueYear4/23Javagal SrinathAuckland20034/30Gurnoor BrarWellington20264/52Javagal SrinathNapier19954/55Mohammed ShamiNapier20144/70Arshdeep SinghAucktlands bowled a 166-run innings in Zealand, laying the foundation for another series win.However, the visitors had to work hard in the chase after the New Zealand pacers took advantage of the movement and bounced the movement on offer. Jacob Duffy dismissed Shubman Gill for the first ball and Virat Kohli for seven, while Rohit Sharma contributed 23 before departing.Axar Patel managed just seven and Shreyas Iyer’s 30 offered some resistance before he was dismissed. With India struggling at 47/4, KL Rahul and Iyer tried to rebuild the innings.Rahul remained unbeaten on 26 as rain interrupted play at 113/7 after 26 overs. India were four runs clear of DLS’s even score of 109 to secure a four-wicket victory and take a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.Brar’s performance was one of the biggest highlights of the competition as the young pacer put in an extraordinary effort in the challenging New Zealand conditions.