89 all out: India relive Henry horror, slump to their 2nd biggest defeat in ODIs

India's batting line-up had no answer to Matt Henry as New Zealand kept their five-match ODI series alive with a crushing 244-run victory in the fourth match at Mount Maunganui on Friday. Chasing 334, India were bowled out for just 89 in 26.4 overs, suffering one of their most embarrassing defeats in recent memory.

The result was particularly striking given how India had fought back with the ball in the first innings. Will Young's 125 and Tim Seifert's 58 had put New Zealand in a strong position after India's early fielding lapses, but the visitors pulled things back in the final 10 overs to restrict the hosts to 333.

The damage was done almost as soon as the chase began. Rohit Sharma fell for a golden duck in the first over, and Henry followed it up by dismissing Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer in the same over. Kohli was bowled for a duck before Iyer departed lbw, also without scoring. Three of India's biggest names were back in the dressing room with the score still on zero.

On a surface that had offered plenty for the batters in the first innings, a target of 334 looked challenging but far from out of India's reach. The chase, though, barely had time to take shape.

None could turn a brief stay into a partnership that might have brought some calm to the dressing room. Henry kept coming back for more, finishing with six wickets, while Matthew Fisher chipped in with three as India's innings unravelled inside 27 overs.

The scale of the defeat made it even harder to digest, more so with the 2027 ODI World Cup knocking on the door.

India's 89 was their third-lowest ODI total since 2000, after the 54 against Sri Lanka in Sharjah in October 2000 and the 88 against New Zealand in Dambulla in 2010.

It was also their sixth-lowest total overall. The 244-run defeat was the second biggest in India's ODI history by runs, just behind the 245-run loss to Sri Lanka in Sharjah in 2000.

New Zealand, meanwhile, had done enough to keep the five-match series alive, with India still leading 2-1.MATT HENRY WRECKS INDIA'S BATTING

Henry's return could hardly have been more timely for New Zealand. The fast bowler had missed the third ODI after suffering a concussion in a training-ground collision with teammate Devon Conway in Auckland. Having been forced to sit out the previous game, he returned to deliver exactly what Mitchell Santner would have hoped for from his comeback spearhead.

India's three senior batters, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer, were all back in the dressing room before the chase could gather any momentum. Taking down that experienced top order in the space of a few deliveries was precisely the kind of impact Santner needed from Henry. The New Zealand captain had his strike bowler back, and Henry wasted little time reminding India what they had been missing.

More than the wickets, it was the manner in which Henry controlled the innings that stood out. He kept asking questions with movement off the pitch, rarely allowing the batters to settle or play with any confidence. India had barely begun to assess the target when Henry had already put the chase on the brink of collapse.

He returned to remove Ishan Kishan and Kuldeep Yadav, completing a six-wicket haul of 6 for 27. Matthew Fisher then took three wickets as the lower order folded, but Henry had done the damage that mattered. His spell turned a target of 334 into an impossible climb and gave New Zealand the kind of result they needed to stay alive in the series.DID INDIA'S FIELDING COST THEM TOO?

Young's century was built on India's inability to make their early chances count. The opener was given two reprieves in the same over, both on five. Rohit put down a chance at first slip, before Ishan Kishan missed another opportunity behind the stumps off Auqib Nabi. Young made the most of those escapes, going on to score 125 off 108 balls, with 14 fours and four sixes.

Seifert had already given New Zealand a flying start with 58 off 48 balls, and Young grew in confidence after his partner's departure. He reached his fifty off 49 deliveries and accelerated to his hundred in 88 balls. His 90-run stand with Finn Allen, who made 41 off 30, took the hosts towards a total well beyond 350.

India did manage to pull things back. Axar Patel was economical and picked up two wickets, while the bowlers restricted New Zealand to 68 runs in the final 10 overs. Young's dismissal at 256 and the quick wickets that followed prevented the hosts from making the most of their platform. But the damage from the dropped chances had already been done.A COMEBACK TO FORGET FOR KULDEEP

After being left out of India's plans earlier in the series, Kuldeep Yadav finally got his opportunity in the fourth ODI. It turned into a difficult outing for the left-arm wrist-spinner, who was taken apart by New Zealand's batters on a surface where he struggled to find his usual control.

Young was particularly severe against him, using his feet to get to the pitch of the ball and hitting him for boundaries. Finn Allen also joined in, taking on the spinner with a sequence of boundaries and a six. Kuldeep ended with figures of 0 for 73 in eight overs, the most expensive spell among India's bowlers.

The contrast with Axar was hard to miss. While the left-arm spinner kept things tight and finished with 2 for 39 from his 10 overs, Kuldeep struggled to contain the scoring.NEW ZEALAND FOUND WHAT INDIA COULDN'T

The contrast between the two innings was striking. New Zealand's seamers extracted swing and movement with the new ball, while India's quicks struggled to find the same rhythm. The visitors could not generate the same threat, even as the ball appeared to offer enough assistance.

Kohli was beaten by a delivery that dipped on him, while Iyer was caught out by a sudden change in bounce. Henry, Kyle Jamieson and Fisher made the most of the movement on offer, something India's seamers struggled to replicate despite their late fightback in the first innings.

Stand-in captain Shreyas Iyer pointed to the difference after the match.

"There was a huge difference between the wickets between innings. Credit to Henry and how he bowled. We tried almost everything in the first innings. We thought the wicket was a belter. Couple of drops but that happens. In the break, we thought we would cruise through the chase. But the wicket seamed and no one threw their wickets. Gotta forget this one after analysing what went right and wrong and come in with a fresh mind."

India still lead the series 2-1, but New Zealand have found a way back into the contest. The visitors will need a much sharper response in the final ODI after a collapse that exposed how vulnerable their batting can be when the new ball starts moving.- Ends

An all-in-all geek for football who channels his inner Real Madrid supporter to keep his Manchester United hopes alive. A preferred blind smasher of the ball when it comes to cricket, courtesy to the singing lessons by Virender Sehwag.