IND vs NZ: IND whitewashes 3-0, wins by 90 runs!

IND vs NZ, 3rd ODI: India 385 for 9 (Gill 112, Rohit 101, Pandya 54, Tickner 3-76, Duffy 3-100) beat New Zealand 295 (Conway 138, Nicholls 42, Thakur 3-45, Kuldeep 3-62, Chahal 2-43) by 90 runs

After their first stand of 212 runs at over eight an over, New Zealand restricted India to 385 runs, but India’s bowlers kept taking wickets on a regular basis to stifle a chase that continued until the 37th over. This was only the fifth time in the history of one-day internationals that three openers had scored hundreds in the same match. Each of them played a stunning innings and had enough time to convert their scores into doubles.

India rose to the top of the ICC ODI rankings and the T20I rankings following their 3-0 series victory

While resting two of their best bowlers in this series, Mohammed Siraj and Mohammed Shami, India will be pleased with how they defended. In their absence, Hardik Pandya struck first, and Kuldeep Yadav posed a wicket-taking threat in the middle overs. However, Shardul Thakur’s triple-strike in the 26th and 28th overs broke the chase’s back.

The bowlers were going to have a difficult day today: Indore has a quick outfield, small boundaries, and a flat pitch. Devon Conway, Shubman Gill, and Rohit Sharma made the most of the conditions by combining to score 351 runs in just 263 balls. Bowlers were forced to find ways to survive as India hit 19 sixes and New Zealand hit 13.

It was Gill’s third century in four innings and Rohit’s first in three years. Rohit beat Sanath Jayasuriya’s 270 sixes to become the No. 1 player. Gill finished third on the all-time list and set a record for the most runs scored in fewer than three ODI series: 360. India appeared certain to have a chance at the first 500 ODI runs while Rohit and Gill batted. Both of them reached their hundreds in the 26th over, making it appear that they could both score double centuries in the same innings.

In the third over, Rohit clipped Jacob Duffy past midwicket at a snail’s pace, but the ball kept getting away from the chasing fielder, making the bowlers’ task clear. The pitch took center stage during Duffy’s subsequent over in all of its splendor. Rohit drove a short-of-a-length ball down the ground for a six that was higher than it was long, and Gill hooked a short ball over long leg for a big six without going hard at it.

After bowling a maiden and only allowing six runs in his first three overs, Lockie Ferguson was bowled for 22 runs in his fourth over. He only bowled one full toss, and not a single bad ball. Gill simply relied on the quick outfield and trusted the pitch.

Now it was almost like a competition. In response, Rohit caught and charged at Duffy, scoring 17 off the tenth over. Rohit matched Gill’s fifty with two sixes off Mitchell Santner to earn his own, hitting fours with a leg glance and an extra-cover drive.

Fours were hit by pushes, sixes by mishits, and sixes by batters flicking from outside off without touching the ball’s pitch. However, the majority of the shots were simply perfectly timed. Daryl Mitchell got excited when Rohit hit a ball high in the air, but he was disappointed when it cleared long-on, which was one ball that accurately summed it up for bowlers.

It’s possible that Mitchell was bowling because New Zealand didn’t want to give the two set right-hand batters to offspinner Michael Bracewell. Gill welcomed Bracewell with a chipped four over extra cover and a massive slog-swept six when he finally joined Rohit in the 1990s.

Rohit scored his century in 83 balls, while Gill took 72. They tried to move faster once they got there. Rohit attempted to send Bracewell into the stands, but he missed with a straight shot. After the bowling, Gill continued and got out to the slower bouncer before pulling Blair Tickner for a six.

India’s incoming batters tried to bat in a way that would do justice to the start, taking risks that the older, softer ball might not have merited. This may have helped New Zealand’s comeback. In fact, in the first 26 minutes, Rohit and Gill ran amok. By that time, they had hit 22 fours and 10 sixes. The outfield was too quick, the ground was too small, and the pitch appeared too flat when they batted.

Pandya had to delay the final charge because slower balls were gripping the surface and causing wickets to fall. It was spectacular when it got here, as Pandya and Thakur took 57 runs in overs 46 to 49.

India clean sweeps New Zealand in an ODI series for the first time in 13 years! #INDvNZ #INDvsNZ #CricketTwitter pic.twitter.com/I67R06NaDr

— Cricket Winner (@cricketwinner_) January 24, 2023

Nevertheless, New Zealand had scored 9 for 173 in the remaining 24 overs. Based on the ease with which the batting had improved during the second half of the first ODI, it did not appear to be an intimidating task even though they were chasing a total that was larger than anything ever achieved in India.

Conway took New Zealand into the back half with wickets in hand and controlled the asking rate, despite the fact that Pandya sent Finn Allen back in the first over. Conway had to take more risks than Rohit and Gill, but their outcomes were concerning for India. For runs, pulls, reverse sweeps, and slog sweeps all flew away. He missed completely when he did. He made sure to go hard when he wasn’t close to the ball because there was a good chance he would clear the small ground.

Conway persevered in his slog-sweeping despite cramping. Conway had scored 108 off 78 at the halfway point, and New Zealand had eight wickets left to score 8.08 runs per over. Thakur, the squatter, appears. With at least 50 ODI wickets, he is the most inefficient bowler, but he also takes nearly two wickets every ten overs. This is due to the fact that he has permission to use his lengths to attack. He did exactly that, hitting Daryl Mitchell with a bouncer, Tom Latham with a knuckle ball first, Glenn Phillips with a short ball, and Daryl Mitchell with a bouncer.

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Now it was all about Conway’s wicket, which came from a direct pull into Rohit’s midriff at midwicket. India, on the other hand, was aware from previous experience that it would not be over until Michael Bracewell was obtained. Ishan Kishan made up for a missed stumping earlier when Kuldeep did that with a deliberate wide down the leg side. It was now officially over.