Fittingly, it remained inconclusive with both the teams finishing on 314, and ruing missed opportunities after the tie; close to 29,000 screaming spectators found themselves on the edge of their seats as a horribly one sided-contest suddenly found a life and will of its own.
Chasing another 300-plus target, India had plummeted to 146 for five by the 28th over; when a valiant MS Dhoni's fightback was cut short by a spectacular catch for 50, seven overs later, almost everybody wrote it off as a waste of top dollar.
But by then R Ashwin had already scripted a cameo and was visibly upset by the tiny altercations with his skipper; he was angry enough to want to play a starring role. Showing gumption and purpose, characterised by a reverse hit, he kept finding the gaps and the big hits.
The indulgent smiles vanished from New Zealand's faces only when they realised that this Indian side's sting was in the tail; they promptly conjured another miracle catch to rid Ashwin for a near-immaculate 65. It wasn't enough though: another Chennai Super King had already begun to flex his muscles.
Ravindra Jadeja, who seemed to be batting with a feather till now, emerged with a double-edged sword; flinging it desperately, to begin with, he soon discovered that he could use it for better ends too.
Even as wickets tumbled around him, he mustered the nerve and wherewithal to leave himself 29 runs in the last two overs and 18 in the final one.
A four off the first ball brought the impossible within his reach; two close wides in the space of four deliveries gave him the breathing and another opportunity to go for the kill: a 4 and a 6 tilted the balance in his favour, with New Zealand staring at defeat. He would surely manage 2 off the last ball. Sadly for him, he could only conceive a single to tie the game.
India escaped by a whisker, keeping the series alive for another day; ironically, the men who were turning out to be the villains so far rose to become the heroes. The openers, Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan, raised 64 at the start but didn't really acquit themselves completely; Suresh Raina added a laborious 31 while the spin twins bowled well and batted brilliantly.
New Zealand's strength, on the other hand, proved to be their Achille's heel at crucial junctures: while they were sensational on the field, even taking two stunning catches, they dropped Jadeja twice, including in the penultimate over, and missed at least two run out chances. Ashwin too was given a second life by the wicketkeeper when he had bounded out of the crease.
Ironically, Corey Anderson who picked up five wickets, bowled the last over; he couldn't stop Jadeja from almost pulling it off, coming up with those two wides and two short, hittable deliveries. He had failed with the bat too, when he was pushed up the order; hopefully, he will realise that the IPL millions, like a cricket match, are not won until they are actually won.
Earlier, India elected to bowl again, looking at the pace and bounce in the track; Martin Guptill helped himself to a patient 111 which blossomed beautifully with every tick of the clock, if not every stroke. He exploited the uniqueness of the ground, its oblique shape and super slick outfield to extricate twelve 4s and two 6s for his fifth hundred.
He was propelled by the quietly magnificent Kane Williamson (65) first and a rampaging Luke Ronchi (38 off 20) later; at one stage, New Zealand threatened to blast into the orbit but eventually came down like a meteor, from 224 for three in the 38th over to 280 for 7 in the 44th.
They would have folded up at 288 but Kumar dropped a sitter, even pushing it over for a six and Southee made the most of it to add 26 more. These runs proved to be India's undoing in the end, just as New Zealand's complacency hurt them when they had the match in their pockets.
India's tied games in ODIs
| India's Score | Overs | Opponent | Score | Overs | Venue | Date |
| 126 | 47.4 | West Indies | 126 | 41.0 | Perth | 6/12/1991 |
| 248/5 | 50.0 | Zimbabwe | 248 | 50.0 | Indore | 18/11/1993 |
| 236 | 49.5 | Zimbabwe | 236/8 | 50.0 | Paarl | 27/1/1997 |
| 338 | 49.5 | England | 338/8 | 50.0 | Bangalore | 27/2/2011 |
| 280/5 | 50.0 | England | 270/8 | 48.5 | Lord's | 11/9/2011* |
| 236/9 | 50.0 | Sri Lanka | 236/9 | 50.0 | Adelaide | 14/2/2012 |
| 314/9 | 50.0 | New Zealand | 314 | 50.0 | Auckland | 25/1/2014 |
| *D/L method | —Rajesh Kumar |
Highest team totals in tied games in ODIs
| Score | Overs | RPO | Team | Opponent | Venue | Date |
| 340/6 | 50.0 | 6.80 | England | New Zealand | Napier | 20/2/2008 |
| 340/7 | 50.0 | 6.80 | New Zealand | England | Napier | 20/2/2008 |
| 338 | 49.5 | 6.78 | India | England | Bangalore | 27/2/2011 |
| 338/8 | 50.0 | 6.76 | England | India | Bangalore | 27/2/2011 |
| 314 | 50.0 | 6.28 | New Zealand | India | Auckland | 25/1/2014 |
| 314/9 | 50.0 | 6.28 | India | New Zealand | Auckland | 25/1/2014 |
| —Rajesh Kumar | ||||||
* This is the first time India and New Zealand have tied an ODI
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