Matt Henry’s three-ball demolition exposes India’s batting weaknesses ahead of 2027 ODI World Cup

Three balls. That was all Matt Henry needed to turn India’s chase of 334 into a rout.Henry was just passing through. The seamer, who missed most of the T20Is with a leg injury and the early ODIs due to concussion concerns after a collision with Devon Conway, stayed back at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui just to prove his fitness and get some leg overs ahead of the Tests.Instead, he produced one of the most devastating opening overs in ODI cricket, reducing India to 0/3 and setting up a 244-run thrashing – India’s second biggest defeat by runs in the format. India collapsed for 89 and the match was effectively sealed before the visitors even troubled the batsmen.Henry’s first ball fell to a good length off the off, kicked and peeled back just enough to flatten Rohit Sharma and kiss the outside edge on his way to first slip. It was an appalling sight, painfully reminiscent of the twilight of Rohit’s Test career and all the more familiar when facing quality fast bowling in overseas conditions.Next up was Virat Kohli. Henry bowled more, pulling it forward and beating the outside edge by inches. Three balls later he swung from the same spot. This one bit back in, stayed low and rattled Kohli’s stumps.Then came Shreyas Iyer, who set out on his captaincy debut and returned with a golden duck – the first Indian captain to meet that fate. Trapped at the crease by one that flew past his inside edge, Iyer fell to a DRS check while Henry was already in the middle of the celebrations. India’s first run came from the 17th delivery of the innings.It was impossible for anyone watching not to be drawn back to Old Trafford in July 2019 when Henry’s 3/37 ripped the heart out of India’s World Cup semi-final chase. After seven years, the scars remain wide open.With the 2027 ODI World Cup in South Africa looming, where conditions could offer similar bounce and seam movement, this trip should set off alarm bells. A hint of lateral movement was enough to reveal India’s dazzling technical cracks.To be fair, Henry was not operating in isolation. Kyle Jamieson used his height to extract bounce and movement and got Ruturaj Gaikwad (5) to edge a weak pressure outside off to second slip as India slumped to 9 for 4.Ishan Kishan (27 off 53) and Axar Patel (21 off 36) held out briefly with a 44-run stand. Naman Dhir (21 for 24) smashed two sixes but Matt Fisher (3 for 31) kept hitting big lengths at high pace to snuff out any fightback. Henry then came back to clean up the tail and finish with career best ODI figures.If India’s batting was fragile, the thinking off the field was equally confusing. On a surface that offers real seam and bounce, so Mohammed Siraj out of the XI once again defies cricketing logic. Gautam Gambhir’s selection calls continue to be a mystery and raise serious questions about the schedule ahead.It was cruel for India to go into the innings break believing they would maintain the momentum. After Tim Seifert (58 off 48) and Will Young put together an opening stand of 85 runs, Young took charge and made sure nobody let up.Young fell twice against Auqib Nabi in the second over of New Zealand’s innings and collected a career-best 125 off 108 balls. Alongside Finn Allen (41 off 30), he bowled out Kuldeep Yadav (0 for 73 in 8 overs) in 90 runs for the fourth wicket before Rohit capitalized on an earlier missed chance with a sharp catch at short cover. Part-timer Naman Dhir then removed Young and took a diving catch to dismiss Gurnoor Brar’s Michael Bracewell. Axar (2 for 39) and Arshdeep Singh, who removed Mitchell Santner, helped India to 6 for 77 in the final 13.1 overs to bowl out New Zealand for 333.Down 2-1, New Zealand now head into Sunday’s final ODI without Henry and Jamieson, both headed for Test duty.