Umpire Langton Rusere makes a bizarre decision during New Zealand-India ODI

High-flying India came crashing down to earth on Wednesday with New Zealand thrashing them by four-wickets in the high-scoring first ODI in Hamilton. In a first ODI meeting between the two sides since the World Cup semifinal last year, the Black Caps came out on top despite the odds stacked firmly against them.

Despite being low on confidence after losing the T20I series 5-0 and missing their key players including captain Kane Williamson, New Zealand went on to beat the in-form visitors. India were looking set to extend their winning run in New Zealand after posting a mammoth total of 347 for 4 in their allotted 50 overs.

Shreyas Iyer starred with the bat by scoring an impressive century while Virat Kohli and KL Rahul scored half-centuries too. While Kohli scored 51 to set the platform for the big total, Rahul provided the finishing touches by slamming 88 from just 64 balls. But the huge score did not prove to be enough for the Men in Blue as New Zealand chased down the total with 11 balls to spare.

In-form Ross Taylor once again impressed with the bat and scored an unbeaten century to guide his team to a much-needed win. He was well supported by Henry Nicholls and Tom Latham with both of the players scoring impressive fifties.

DRS saved New Zealand from the bizarre decision

While the game did not see any major controversy, there was one incident that caught everyone’s attention. Zimbabwean umpire Langton Rusere made a bizarre decision when Henry Nicholls was batting on 5. But the DRS saved the New Zealand star who went on to play a crucial knock of 78 before being run out by Virat Kohli.

The incident took place in the fourth over when Mohammed Shami was bowling. A rising delivery from the India pacer hit Nicholls’ thigh pad and flew straight to the man at gully. Few Indian players appealed and the umpire surprisingly raised his finger without any hesitation.

But Nicholls knew that his bat or gloves were nowhere close to the ball and immediately reviewed the decision. The replays then showed that the ball had missed the bat and the gloves by a huge margin and Rusere had to overturn his decision.

Here is a clip of that incident:

pic.twitter.com/ppzbFulLFb

— cricketshot09 (@cricketshot09) February 5, 2020