‘They’re a world-class outfit’: Matt Henry cautions against getting carried away after six-wicket haul against India

New Zealand defeated India by a massive 244 runs in the fourth ODI at Mount Maunganui after bowling them out for just 89 while defending a target of 334.

Matt Henry starred with a sensational six-wicket haul, including three wickets in the opening over, which triggered India’s batting collapse.

Henry explained that his bowling strategy was to keep things simple, target the stumps and make the most of the new-ball conditions. He said the sharp movement in the opening over put Indian batters under immediate pressure, particularly those facing their first deliveries.

“Well, especially with the way the wind was going, I wasn’t too worried about the swing. So from ball one it was just about trying to have the strengths and bring the stumps in play, really. We knew that there was a small window there with the new ball that you could put the batters under pressure. So just trying to be as simple as possible, obviously, and when it moves sharply like that in the first over, when people are facing the first ball, it’s pretty tough,” Matt Henry said after the match.

Matt Henry (6/27) wreaked havoc on India’s top order, dismissing Rohit Sharma (0), Virat Kohli (0) and Shreyas Iyer (0) in a sensational opening over to leave the visitors reeling at 0/3. The Kiwi pacer returned to dismantle the lower order, removing Ishan Kishan, Kuldeep Yadav (1) and Gurnoor Brar (2) to register career-best ODI figures and bowl India out for just 89 in 26.4 overs.

Henry continued his impressive record against India in ODIs. The Kiwi pace spearhead has now claimed 27 wickets in 12 matches at an outstanding average of 17.33, including two five-wicket hauls.

Speaking on his impressive record against India in ODIs, Henry acknowledged Men in Blue’s world-class quality and cautioned against reading too much into one victory, stressing that the team would need to maintain its focus ahead of the next match.

“Oh, I don’t want to get too carried away. No, they’re a world-class outfit, and I think that’s the message that we were saying right through. They can bat deep, and yeah, look, it’s one game, and we’ve got another one coming up soon that hopefully we can level the series,” he added.

It proved to be a decisive result as the hosts trimmed India’s series lead to 2-1 heading into the final fixture on Sunday.