Matt Henry vs India: A familiar story awakens the ghosts of the past

New Zealand’s Matt Henry (left) bowls against India during a One Day International cricket match in Tauranga, New Zealand, Friday, November 13, 2026 MOUNT MAUNGANUI: The seagulls started circling the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui in full force just as India were about to start their run chase. Little did they know they would soon be joined by flying ducks as Matt Henry ran through the visitors’ top order to dismiss Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer in the very first over of India’s innings.Henry needed just six deliveries to wake up the ghosts of the 2019 World Cup semi-final, sending back three right-handers for ducks. The only consolation for India seven years ago was that their top three – KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli – managed to score at least one run each.Chasing 334, India lost Rohit with the first ball. Rohit closed his bat face a little early and was level, Kohli was cleaned up by a sharp scoop that stayed a little low, and India’s stand-in captain Iyer had no response to a delivery that came back sharply after being pitched. Using his magical length and dangerous swinging seam, Henry put India on the mat in the very first over. Spectators who stepped out for quick hydration and refueling were shocked to see the score on the giant screen, and some even started walking away with disappointment written on their faces.They came hoping to witness special knocks from Kohli and Rohit but had to settle for long journeys back to the dressing room. And before they could settle back into their chairs or onto the grass, Iyer joined the parade of ducks. Matters could have been worse had Nick Kelly stuck to a regulation catch offered by Axar Patel off the first delivery he faced. Seeing Henry breathing fire, Kyle Jamieson soon joined the hunting pack and got rid of Ruturaj Gaikwad as India lost four wickets in the first 10 overs.Henry wasn’t done. He returned to the attack and struck immediately, ending Ishan Kishan’s resistance with his very first delivery. Bowling around the wicket, the New Zealand pacer got one from a good length and backed away sharply. Ishan moved forward to defend but left a gap between bat and pad. The inside edge bounced onto the leg stump, breaking the bail and ending his innings. The 34-year-old completed his five-wicket haul, his fourth in ODIs, with another display of his trademark rasping line and length and a hint of inside movement. Henry made the ball return violently. Kuldeep Yadav was late getting forward, allowing the delivery to beat his inside edge and defense before hitting the top of the stumps.Matt Henry finished with career best figures of 6/27 as New Zealand beat India by 244 runs.It was the third time India had suffered this foul in ODIs since 2018, and all three instances featured a common boss: Henry. The fast bowler picked up two wickets when India lost by four in Wellington in 2019, three during the World Cup semi-final at Old Trafford in the same year and continued his habit at the Bay Oval.The pitch didn’t change drastically when dusk came, but the evening chill brought so much life to a surface that had looked very comfortable for batting during the New Zealand innings. More than the surface, Henry found the right spot from the word go and stuck to it with his rocking seam. Both again proved to be a lethal combination and India joined the list of several unwanted firsts thanks to it.It was only the second time that both Kohli and Rohit had registered ducks in ODIs and the first time that India had lost three wickets without adding anything to the scoreboard. This has only happened four times before in the history of one-day cricket.India would hope to forget those six deliveries as a nightmare and bounce back when they return to the same venue for the series-deciding match.“45 minutes of bad cricket (in Kohli’s words)” against an attack with usual suspect Henry “cost” India the semi-final in 2019. This time, it took only a few minutes for Henry to stamp his authority on a series he missed due to a freak injury. The exhilarating ending nicely sets up the final match and the Test series that follows. Henry vs India remains a very interesting story.A brief scoreNew Zealand: 333 all out in 50 overs (Will Young 125, Finn Allen 41; Axar Patel 2/39, Auqib Nabi 2/59, Gurnoor Brar 2/69)India: 89 all out in 26.4 overs (Ishan Kishan 27; Matt Henry 6/27, Matthew Fisher 3/31)