At Wellington Regional Stadium on November 7, 2026, India edged past New Zealand by 4 runs under the DLS method in the second ODI of the five-match series, moving to a 2-0 lead. New Zealand had posted 134 in 41 overs, and India were in serious trouble at 47 for 4 during their chase before rain intervened with the scoreboard reading 113 for 7 in 26 overs.

KL Rahul steadied the innings with an unbeaten 26 off 38 balls, adding a 39-run fifth-wicket stand alongside Shreyas Iyer, who contributed 30 before being dismissed by Kyle Jamieson. Rohit Sharma had managed 23 before Jamieson removed him, while Virat Kohli was out for 7 and Shubman Gill fell for a golden duck, dismissed by Jacob Duffy. When rain stopped play, India were 4 runs ahead of the DLS par score, which sealed the result in their favour. Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra acknowledged that the outcome could easily have gone the other way.

"A 135-run chase turned out to be a tough one. We were staring at defeat if it was not for the rain and also for Rahul, who saved our blushes, to be fair. Nabi can bat, so he was still there. So I was hopeful till Nabi was there. But KL Rahul was looking extremely assured, so you would expect him to actually farm the strike and expect Nabi to just play sensible cricket. I was hoping that Rahul would take us across the line. In all fairness, it takes only one ball to dismiss KL Rahul. If that would have happened, yes, we have dodged a bullet, it's a fair assessment," Chopra said to Cricinfo.

Why did India's bowling stand out in the 2nd ODI?

India's bowling unit was the primary reason New Zealand were restricted to 134 in 41 overs. Gurnoor Brar was the standout performer, claiming 4 for 30 and earning the Player of the Match award. Arshul Kamboj supported him effectively with figures of 2 for 25, while Axar Patel also contributed with wickets as the New Zealand batting order struggled to build partnerships. Former India cricketer Ajay Jadeja was effusive in his praise for the bowling effort. He said,

"The bowling was extremely disciplined. It's not like there was a huge difference in assistance between the previous game and this one, but the bowling was exceptional today. There was rarely a bad ball, and the batters aren't used to that these days. The batters were used to playing out that period in the 1980s," Jadeja said on the Sony Sports Network.

Jadeja elaborated further on the collective nature of the performance, lauding India's bowlers for stepping up together. He praised the attack for their discipline with line and length, which he labelled as a feature not seen in a while.

"After the first spell, Gurnoor Brar came and troubled the batters with bounce. When Axar Patel came on to bowl, wickets had already fallen, but it was a different challenge, and no one could live up to it. This isn't an experienced bowling attack, but they bowled like an experienced bowling attack. I would go to the extent of saying that it's been a very long time since I have seen such disciplined bowling from any team because they usually try something different, assuming that the batter would attack. Daryl Mitchell tried for some time. He hit Anshul Kamboj for two fours in an over to unsettle them, but they maintained their patience. It was an extremely impressive performance," Jadeja noted.

How did Arshdeep Singh contribute despite going wicketless?

Arshdeep Singh did not take a wicket in the second ODI, but Jadeja was quick to point out that his contribution to the bowling effort was significant nonetheless. In the first ODI of the same series, Arshdeep had claimed four wickets, making him one of the key architects of India's opening win.

"If you see it as a team, Arshdeep Singh got four wickets in the last match, and others got fewer. Just because he didn't get wickets in this game doesn't mean he didn't bowl well. In fact, he bowled extremely well, probably better than when he took four wickets in the previous game," Jadeja concluded.

The remark underlined the view that wicket tallies alone do not capture a bowler's true influence on a given day. India's 2-0 lead in the five-match series reflects a collective effort across both batting and bowling departments in the opening two games at Wellington.