New Zealand vs India: 3rd ODI- Who Said What

After a couple of thumping victories, India didn’t have much trouble in winning the series. Virat Kohli and Co came to the party and emerged victorious in the third ODI at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui by seven wickets to take an unassailable 3-0 lead in the series. The Kane Williamson-captained New Zealand looked good in patches, but couldn’t be consistent enough to get under the Men in Blue’s skins.

Taylor plays a lone hand

The Kiwis decided to bat first after winning the toss and were bowled out for 243 with one over left. Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammed Shami got rid of both the opening batsmen- Martin Guptill and Colin Munro respectively. Williamson tried to put his head down with a patient 28, but Yuzvendra Chahal accounted for his wicket. Thereafter, Tom Latham and the experienced Ross Taylor took over.

The duo put on 119 for the fourth wicket and put New Zealand in a commanding position. Chahal nipped out Latham after the left-hander scored 51 runs from 64 balls with one four and six each. Taylor scored his half-century in 71 balls and went on to rack up 93 runs with nine boundaries. For India, even as Shami got three crucial wickets, Bhuvneshwar, Chahal and Hardik Pandya picked up two wickets each.

Rohit and Kohli guide India

The run-chase wasn’t expected to be difficult for the visitors and they tracked the target down with seven overs to spare. Shikhar Dhawan blazed away with a quickfire 28 with six fours and he fell prey to speedster Trent Boult. Kohli joined Rohit Sharma in the middle and they piled on 113 runs together to put India in the driver’s seat. Sharma scored his fifty in 63 balls and was the third wicket to go down.

Rohit was dismissed by Mitchell Santner for 62 from 77. Kohli also accomplished his fifty in 59 balls and he became Boult’s second victim. The onus was then on Ambati Rayudu and Dinesh Karthik to shepherd the team through to victory. They cobbled together an unbeaten stand of 77 runs. While Rayudu remained not out on 40 from 42, Karthik scored a run-a-ball 38 with five fours and one over-boundary.

Kane Williamson, the New Zealand captain, said

They are a very good side and they are teaching us a lesson. There are improvements today and we want to appreciate some of the lessons we have learnt from their side. The consistency about their plans and the way they forced some mistakes I guess we gotta be better than that. The margins are large in white cricket but it does require a lot of improvement. I think everybody is wanting to contribute more. The wicket was tough and the partnership between Latham and Ross was outstanding. I think we are going okay with the ball in hand. We need early wickets to put pressure on the opposition.

Virat Kohli, the Indian captain, said

Amazing. Three clinical games for us. Couldn’t have asked for a better performance after the first two clinical games. The relentlessness of the side is something that really pleases me. We really enjoy ourselves and even at the end when Rayudu and Karthik were batting, we were sitting in the change room and cheering for every run. That’s how the environment in the dressing room is. The guys believe in their skills and they are showing it on the field. When a guy doesn’t get runs in a couple of games, he’s actually hungry to score runs and the opposition feels a bit nervous because he’s gonna fire at some stage.

So, that’s the kind of confidence we carry in the team right now; in the batting department as well as the bowling department. The guys are making those impactful performances and that’s why we have been winning convincingly. Hopefully, we can win the last 2 games. I haven’t had a break for a long time. It’s been a very hectic Australian tour and now I go on a break very happy 3-0 up sealing the series. I can relax and enjoy my break. Someday someone has to take your place and that’s how the game goes.

I’m pretty happy contributing for the team as much as I can. A word on the youngsters coming in – I think there are some outstanding talents. We saw Prithvi Shaw grab the opportunity with both hands. Shubman is a very exciting talent and I saw him bat in the nets and I was like wow I was not even ten percent of that when I was 19. So, that’s the confidence that they carry and it’s great for Indian cricket, the standard keeps going up and the guys coming in can make those impact performances straightaway. And, we are more than happy to give them chances and provide them the space to grow.

Mohammed Shami, the Player of the Match, said

It’s really difficult to bowl against the wind. One comes with the wind and the other is against the wind. It is difficult but not too hard. Bhuvi at the other end was also a great help. Sticking to areas where we want to bowl is the key.

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