New Zealand vs India, 2020, 3rd ODI – Who Said What

In their pursuit of clinching a consolidated win against the hosts, India locked horns with New Zealand in the final ODI of the three-match series. After the drubbing 2-0 defeat in the ODI series, Virat Kohli and his troops were hoping to finish their dismal campaign on a positive note. However, a robust batting performance by New Zealand handed India a thumping defeat in the third and final ODI of the series.

The Indian bowling force was left clueless after a strong batting performance by the Kiwis as they handed India a rare series whitewash after getting humiliated in the T20I series. The Men in Blue suffered a whitewash in an ODI series since their 0-5 defeat against West Indies in 1988/89.

KL Rahul notched his fourth ODI ton

After being put to bat first, India’s opening woes continued as Mayank Agarwal yet again failed to provide his side with a good start. After Agarwal departed after scoring 1, it was Prithvi Shaw who flaunted glimpses of his potential by scoring 42-ball 40 before getting dismissed off an unfortunate run out. Shaw’s departure paved way for the duo of Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul to steal the limelight. While Iyer scored a brilliant 62-run knock, it was KL Rahul who continued his run-scoring spree by smashing his fourth ODI ton.

The Karnataka batsman ensured that Team India post a competitive total of 296 runs against the hosts. His sublime knock of 112 runs off 113 deliveries was the prime reason behind the team’s run flow till his departure in the 47th over. Manish Pandey also rose to the scene to play a vital cameo of 42 runs at the end.

Colin de Grandhomme sealed the victory for Kiwis

Coming on to the chase, the Guptill-Nicholls duo already laid a strong foundation for the hosts after stitching a century partnership for the opening wicket. Guptill (66) and Nicholls (80) left no stones unturned in ensuring that the hosts thump India in the final match of the ODI series. Despite the failure of skipper Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor, it was the quick-fire knock of Colin de Grandhomme which steered New Zealand to the triumph.

De Grandhomme turned the tables in favour of New Zealand with his explosive 28-ball 58 knock. He was well assisted by Latham, who stitched 32 runs to steer Black Caps to a comprehensive five-wicket victory. Henry Nicholls was adjudged the Player of the Match for his brilliant batting performance while Ross Taylor was awarded Player of the Series.

Henry Nicholls, the Player of the Match said

To come back and win 3-0 after the T20Is is nice. The way Guptill played today allowed us to get ahead. We got a 100-run stand, but we were fortunate enough to get good starts this series.

Virat Kohli, the Indian skipper said

The games were not as bad as the scoreline suggests. But the way we fielded and bowled, the composure wasn’t enough to win games. Didn’t deserve to be on the winning side this series. Haven’t played so badly, but we didn’t grab opportunities. They played with lot more intensity than we did. They deservedly won 3-0. We are excited for the Test series. We now have a balanced team and need to step out on the park with the right kind of mindset.

Kane Williamson, the New Zealand skipper said

Outstanding performance, India put us under pressure every game of this series and today, the first half the way boys fought with the ball was brilliant. The cricket smarts were outstanding to see and it’s something that the boys did that well throughout the series. There are always things to learn from sides like India and it’s a great start and we are just building on these performances and looking forward to ODIs with Australia later on. An outstanding effort against a brilliant side like India. Its recovering (the shoulder) well which is a good thing and I just want to make a special mention to Hindo, obviously, a fan and friend of the team and member of the Sky cricket team and just want him to know that all (the team) are thinking about him.