By 
India has now become the No.1 ICC-ranked men’s ODI team after a thumping 90-run win over New Zealand in the third ODI at the Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore, on Tuesday. With this win, India completed another 3-0 series clean sweep after defeating Sri Lanka with the same margin at home.
Indian openers Shubman Gill (112 off 78) and Rohit Sharma (101 off 85) scored brilliant centuries, while bowlers Shardul Thakur (3-45) and Kuldeep Yadav (3-62) produced an impressive bowling performance to help India register a dominating 90-run win in the third and final ODI despite a fighting century from Devon Conway.
England, who had gained the top spot merely three days back following New Zealand’s loss to India in the second ODI, are now in second position, with New Zealand slipping to the fourth spot.
After being asked to bat first, brilliant centuries from Rohit and Gill along with Hardik Pandya’s vital fifty (54 off 38) powered India to a massive 385/9 in the stipulated 50 overs.
Gill and Rohit displayed a solid batting performance by smashing fours and sixes all around the park to put a 212-run opening stand for the first wicket. Other Indian batters – Virat Kohli (36), Ishan Kishan (17) and Suryakumar Yadav (14) got starts but couldn’t convert them into big scores.
While chasing a huge total of 386, New Zealand got off to the worst possible start as all-rounder Pandya removed opener Finn Allen for a duck in the very first over. Despite the early blow, the Kiwis bounced back with left-handers Devon Conway and Henry Nicholls producing a wide range of shots playing drives, scoops, cuts, and slashes all over the park for fours and sixes.
Pace bowlers Umran Malik and Shardul Thakur were put under some pressure as left-handed Conway and Nicholls added 106 runs for the second wicket to help the Kiwis recover after an early setback. Nicholls made 42 off 40, hitting three fours and two sixes before Kuldeep trapped him lbw in front of the wicket.
Soon, Conway got a lucky reprieve on 58 in Yuzvendra Chahal’s over as wicket-keeper Kishan missed an easy stumping opportunity. The left-hander took full advantage of that life and made the Indians pay as he played shots in all parts of the ground to score quick runs and never allowed the Indian bowlers to get into a rhythm, completing his hundred in 74 balls to provide New Zealand good momentum in the chase.
However, Thakur once again showed his magical wicket-taking ability by scalping back-to-back wickets of Daryl Mitchell (24) and Tom Latham (0) in the 26th over and then Glenn Phillips (5) in the 28th over to bring the game back into India’s favour, leaving New Zealand struggling at 200/5 after 27.4 overs.
𝗡𝗨𝗠𝗕𝗘𝗥 1️⃣ 𝗜𝗡 𝗢𝗗𝗜𝘀!
Congratulations #TeamIndia 👏👏 pic.twitter.com/pjzuPZ4ENt
— BCCI (@BCCI) January 24, 2023
Although, wickets kept falling at the other end, Conway kept scoring boundaries and sixes at regular intervals to keep the visitors alive in the run-chase. However, In the 32nd over, Conway flicked one delivery from Umran straight to Rohit standing at mid-wicket, bringing an end to his magnificent knock of 138 off 100 deliveries, including twelve fours and eight sixes.
After Conway’s wicket, chasing the total was a tough task for the remaining New Zealand batters. Michael Bracewell scored 26 off 22 while Mitchell Santner made 34 off 29 and got off to a good start, but the duo couldn’t repeat their heroics from the first ODI as the Indian bowlers eventually bowled out the Kiwis for 295 in 41.2 overs.
Shardul Thakur (3-45) and Kuldeep Yadav (3-62) were India’s most successful bowlers while Yuzvendra Chahal (2-43), Hardik Pandya (1-37) and Umran Malik (1-52) also chipped in with wickets at crucial moments.
Earlier, put into bat first on a flat track, Gill and Rohit gave India a solid start and took full advantage of the short-sized boundaries. The New Zealand bowlers were economical and disciplined with their line and lengths for the first five-six overs.
However, with both the openers getting their eye-in and the ball hardly swinging or seaming, it was just a matter of time before India pressed the accelerator pedal.
In the 8th over, Gill cut, drove and steered Lockie Ferguson all around the park as India collected 22 runs in a single over. Soon, Rohit also joined his opening partner by unleashing his pull shot and lofting Jacob Duffy into the stands to collect 17 runs in the over as the Indian opening pair added 82/0 in the first Power-play.
Following the power play, both batters went on to continue their aggressive approach and completed their respective half-centuries in quick times. While Gill scored his fifty in just 33 balls, Rohit reached his half-century off 41 deliveries with a six against left-arm spinner Santner.
New Zealand skipper Latham tried many different options to get their first breakthrough by bowling Mitchell and Santner, but nothing worked as Gill and Rohit displayed a batting masterclass by hitting fours and sixes at regular intervals to reach the 150-run opening stand in the 18th over. At one point, after reaching their 90s, both the openers were competing against each other to reach the three-figure mark.
Eventually, it was Rohit, who completed his long-awaited century after January 2020 in 83 deliveries with a single in the 26th over. On the other hand, Gill didn’t have to wait any longer as he scored a boundary in the same over to complete his century in 72 balls. With this hundred, Gill continued his dream run by scoring three centuries in his last four ODIs.
At that time, it felt as if India could even reach 450 but New Zealand did well to apply brakes on the hosts’ scoring rate by picking wickets at regular intervals.
After reaching his milestone, Rohit couldn’t continue his innings longer and was bowled by Bracewell while trying to slog across the line. Like Rohit, Gill also got out soon after his century, with Blair Tickner providing the visitors with an important breakthrough.
Coming in at No.3, veteran batter Virat Kohli got off to a start and looked in good touch, to stitch a 38-run partnership with Kishan. However, Kishan got run out on 17 off 24 after getting into a mix-up with Kohli. Just one over later, Kohli was caught off Duffy after scoring 36 off 27 balls, hitting three fours and a six.
As the track seemed to slow down a bit, New Zealand’s into-the-wicket bowling alongside variations in pace resulted in the wickets of Suryakumar (14) and Washington Sundar (9), who once again failed to capitalize on their opportunities in the absence of Shreyas Iyer and Axar Patel.
At that point, Shardul and Pandya provided India with a much-needed partnership by scoring fours and sixes in all corners of the ground. The duo added a vital 54-run stand for the seventh wicket in just over five overs to lift the pace again and ensure India finished with a total of 385/9 in 50 overs.
For New Zealand, Blair Tickner (3-76), Jacob Duffy (3-100) and Michael Bracewell (1/51) were the main wicket-takers.
Shardul Thakur was awarded Player of the Match for his vital 25 off 17 and figures of 3/45, while Shubman Gill was awarded Player of the Series for scoring 360 runs in three matches, becoming the joint-highest run-getter in a three-match bilateral ODI series along with Pakistan skipper Babar Azam.
Brief scores: India 385/9 in 50 overs (Shubman Gill 112, Rohit Sharma 101; Blair Tickner 3-76, Jacob Duffy 3-100) beat New Zealand 295/10 in 41.2 overs (Devon Conway 138, Henry Nicholls 42; Shardul Thakur 3-45, Kuldeep Yadav 3-62) by 90 runs.
Comments