Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma mastered the chase once again after Hardik Pandya made an immediate impact upon his return as India sealed the series in style by registering a seven-wicket win in the third ODI against New Zealand in Mount Maunganui. This is India’s first series victory in New Zealand since 2009.
Pandya registered figures of 2/45 and took a stunning catch to remove Kiwi captain Kane Williamson after being drafted straight into the playing XI upon his return to the squad after being suspended for sexist comments on a TV show.
Winning the toss and electing to bat first, the hosts reached 243 on the back of Ross Taylor’s 93 which was also their highest score in the series so far.
India struck early as Bhuvneshwar Kumar (2/46) and Mohammed Shami (3/41) removed the openers cheaply.
Rohit, who scored 87 runs in the 2nd ODI, followed it with yet another fifty as he scored 62 runs off 77 balls. The Mumbai batsman was also involved in a 113-run partnership with skipper Kohli, who scored 60 runs from 74 balls. After the two senior batsmen were sent back in the hut in quick succession, Ambati Rayudu (40* from 42) and Dinesh Karthik (38* from 38) – two contenders for India’s squad for World Cup 2019, finished things in style by adding unbeaten 77 runs for the seventh-wicket partnership.
With the series done and dusted, Kohli will now leave the captaincy duties with Rohit as the BCCI has rested him for the final two ODIs as well as the T20I series against New Zealand. The step has been taken to manage the Delhi batsman’s workload ahead of the ICC World Cup 2019. Shubman Gill is likely to replace Kohli for the fourth and the fifth ODIs respectively.
