Gurnoor Brar has seven wickets in two ODIs, and India can seal the New Zealand series in Hamilton on Tuesday
India lead the five-match ODI series 2-0 after two rain-hit DLS wins, and the third game at Seddon Park is Shubman Gill’s last ODI of the tour before he leaves to prepare for the Tests.
Nov 9, 2026
Gurnoor Brar has seven wickets in two games against New Zealand, more than anyone on either side. Both games in this series have been cut short by rain, both have gone to India on DLS, and India can wrap up the five-match series with two to spare if they win the third at Seddon Park in Hamilton on Tuesday, 10 November. Play is due to start at 3pm local time, which is 7:30am IST.
It is also Shubman Gill’s last ODI of the tour. He leaves after Hamilton to get ready for the Tests, and Shreyas Iyer takes over as captain for the last two games at Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui on 13 and 15 November.
Rain again, and a pitch that has had little time
The weather is the first problem. Hamilton was wet on Saturday, and more rain is forecast for Monday and for the match itself. Seddon Park’s head groundsman, Karl Johnson, told ESPNcricinfo that the “forecast isn’t great for tomorrow and matchday is not flash either”. He expects the pitch to spend long spells under the covers.
Johnson said the unusually wet start to November is the main reason the first two ODI pitches behaved the way they did. At Eden Park and in Wellington there was seam movement and steep, uneven bounce, and New Zealand batted first both times without getting past 41 overs. His aim in Hamilton is a surface that stays the same for 100 overs, with little help for the seamers.
Brar and Duffy have set the tone
The fast bowlers have run this series. Brar took three wickets at Eden Park and then 4 for 30 in Wellington, where New Zealand were bowled out for 134. Jacob Duffy has six for New Zealand, and Arshdeep Singh and Anshul Kamboj four each for India. The leading run-scorers are Daryl Mitchell with 83 and Virat Kohli with 81, which tells you how hard batting has been.
New Zealand have lost both games and are short of batters. Devon Conway is out of the series, and Rachin Ravindra and Mark Chapman are missing the ODIs. Mitchell Santner’s side need a win to keep the series alive.
Hamilton has not always been kind to India
Seddon Park has one bad ODI memory for India, from January 2019. With the series already won, they were bowled out for 92 in the fourth ODI. Trent Boult took 5 for 21, and New Zealand knocked off the runs in 14.4 overs to win by eight wickets. Johnson’s surface, and the forecast, will decide whether Tuesday looks anything like that.
After the ODIs, the tour moves on to two Tests, starting at the Basin Reserve in Wellington on 19 November.