At Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui on Friday, November 13, New Zealand dominated India in the fourth ODI of their five-match series. The hosts compiled 333 runs across 50 overs, while India's batting collapsed dramatically as they were bowled out for 89 in just 26.4 overs. The result kept the series competitive at 2-1 in India's favour heading into the final match scheduled for Sunday, November 15 at the same venue.

Among India's bowlers, Axar Patel maintained discipline despite the heavy defeat. Across 10 overs, he conceded 39 runs while claiming 2 wickets without bowling a single wide or no-ball, achieving an economy rate of 3.90. His victims included Finn Allen, who was caught by Rohit Sharma after scoring 41 off 30 balls, and Nick Kelly. The left-arm spinner's controlled performance stood out in a match where New Zealand's batting proved too strong.

Murali Kartik, the former India left-arm spinner who took 24 Test wickets and 37 ODI wickets across 8 Test and 37 ODI appearances, analysed Axar's contribution. Kartik highlighted how Axar compensates for not being a traditional spinner by relying on his ability to read batters and adjust his pace effectively.

"He (Axar) bowled beautifully. He's not a spinner; we all know that. So what he does is slow the ball down and vary his pace brilliantly. He's one with a big heart and reads the batter. In spite of not having a lot of guile, he gets the most out of himself," Kartik said on Cricbuzz Live.

Will Young anchored New Zealand's innings with 125 runs off 108 balls, while Tim Seifert contributed a fifty to the Kiwis' total. Auqib Nabi and Gurnoor Brar also bagged two wickets apiece but they proved to be expensive.

In reply, Ishan Kishan top-scored for the Men in Blue with a 53-ball 27. However, the writing was on the wall after India had lost three wickets in the first over of the run-chase, thanks to Matt Henry's sensational new-ball bowling. The Kiwi pacer eventually finished with figures of 6/27 in 9.4 overs.