5 worst defeats for New Zealand in ODIs

#1 7-wicket loss to Australia in World Cup Final at Melbourne, 2015

Brendon McCullum is dismissed by Mitchell Starc

New Zealand had played brilliant cricket to reach the final of the World Cup back in 2015 and considering the fact that they had beaten their fellow finalists Australia, they started the game as the favourites. However, once they won the toss and batted first, things started going wrong for them. Talismanic captain Brendon McCullum was dismissed for a duck in the 1st over and although they recovered to 150 for 3 by the 35th over, all the good work was undone soon after.

Within the next 10 overs, they collapsed to 183 all out as James Faulkner’s variations completely bamboozled their middle and lower order. Due to the sheer magnitude of the game and the way they had played in the World Cup until then, it was a crushing disappointment for many. The collapse was nothing short of an embarrassment and the total was never going to be enough on a pitch that favoured batsmen. Australia were never in any trouble as they chased the target down in 33.1 overs for the loss of only 3 wickets.