3rd ODI: New Zealand overcome Kohli’s valiant 124 to secure 2-1 series win
Indore, Jan 18 : New Zealand overcame a valiant 124 off 108 balls from the talismanic Virat Kohli to clinch a 41-run victory and seal a historic 2-1 win in the ODI series decider at the Holkar Stadium in Indore on Sunday.
Knocks of 137 and 106 from Daryl Mitchell and Glenn Phillips took New Zealand to a commanding 337/8 on a two-paced black soil pitch, before the visitors held their nerve to overcome Kohli’s valiant 54th ODI century, and bowl out India for 296 in 46 overs. Kyle Jamieson and Zakary Foulkes picked three wickets each as the result gave New Zealand their first-ever ODI series win on Indian soil, after being 1-0 behind last week.
India’s chase faltered early as Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, and KL Rahul departed cheaply, leaving the hosts reeling at 71/4. Kohli (124 off 108 balls) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (53) revived hopes with a fighting 88-run partnership, while Harshit Rana added late fireworks via a 43-ball 52. But the target eventually proved to be out of India’s reach, as the result marked India’s fifth home ODI series defeat since 2010.
India’s chase began brightly, as they raced to 28 runs in the first three overs. But Rohit's innings ended in the fourth over when he tamely lobbed a flick to mid-on off Foulkes. Jamieson then produced a sharp nip-backer from outside off, which beat Gill’s defence and deflected off the pad to crash into the stumps.
Kohli, after being troubled by Jamieson’s bounce and movement, pulled and walloped his way to hit four quick boundaries off Foulkes, Jamieson, and Kristian Clarke. But wickets continued to fall from the other end as Iyer miscued a short delivery straight to mid-on off Clarke, while Rahul was deceived by grip and turn from Jayden Lennox and was forced to give a catch off a check drive to extra cover.
Taking charge in the chase, Kohli reached his fifty in 51 balls, and his impeccable timing was on display when his trademark flick sped past deep square leg despite being played as a strike-rotation shot. From the other end, an assured Reddy complemented Kohli by striking four boundaries while his swivelling pull off Foulkes and a slog-sweep off Glenn Phillips, fetching him sixes, were the standout shots, with the second one getting him a maiden ODI fifty.
The duo’s run-a-ball partnership of 88 runs for the fifth wicket ended when Clarke dismissed him with a short ball that cramped him for room, and Reddy couldn’t keep the pull down, giving mid-wicket a simple catch. Ravindra Jadeja’s attempt to counter Lennox backfired as his lofted shot failed to clear deep midwicket.
But Kohli responded with a burst of boundaries, striking three fours and a wristy six over backward square leg in the space of 11 balls. From the other end, Rana provided valuable support with assured strokeplay, with his inside-out drive through the covers off Foulkes being the standout.
Much to the delight of the crowd, Kohli reached his century in 91 deliveries and kept India’s hopes alive. Jamieson endured a rare hammering when Kohli struck him for two sixes - one straight down the ground off a full toss and another over midwicket. Rana added to the fireworks with a towering hit over long-on off Foulkes to reach his maiden ODI fifty in just 41 balls.
But Rana’s innings ended soon when he holed out to long-on off a high full toss from Foulkes, who removed Mohammed Siraj on the very next ball, leaving India needing 61 runs from 37 deliveries. The crowd’s hopes rested on Kohli, who responded with back-to-back boundaries in the 46th over to keep the chase alive.
But two balls later, he miscued a lofted stroke to long-off for 124. Though he got a standing ovation from the crowd, it was destined to be in vain. India’s resistance ended swiftly as Kuldeep Yadav was run out while taking a risky single, handing New Zealand a historic series triumph and adding another feather in their cap after achieving a remarkable 3-0 Test sweep just over a year earlier.
Previously, inserted to bat first, New Zealand were at 58/3 before Mitchell and Phillips powered the visitors to a strong total with a commanding 219-run stand off 186 balls. Mitchell, reprieved on one after a missed run-out chance from Kuldeep Yadav, looked assured throughout as he registered his fourth ODI hundred against India, with the help of 15 fours and three sixes. Mitchell now holds the record for the most runs by a batter in a men’s three-game ODI series against India.
Phillips, meanwhile, overcame a slow start - taking 37 balls for hitting the first boundary - before accelerating to a fluent 83-ball century laced with nine fours and three sixes. Though the duo fell quickly, captain Michael Bracewell played a fine cameo of an unbeaten 18-ball 28 and set India on the path of a stiff chase.
New Zealand’s innings began idramaticallyas Henry Nicholls chopped on to his stumps off Arshdeep Singh, while Rana found movement and had the outside edge of Devon Conway carry to first slip, as he dismissed him for the third straight time in this series.
After being hit for boundaries whenever he offered width, Rana eventually struck again when Will Young cut to backward point off him and fell for 30. But with small dimensions and quick outfield, Mitchell looked fluent from the outset, producing back-foot boundaries on both sides of the wicket to underline the scoring potential available for batters.
Mitchell signalled his intent to attack the spinner in the 17th over by stepping out to loft Kuldeep Yadav for a straight six and looked in command once again by reaching his half-century off 56 balls. Mitchell continued to attack by striking another six over wide long-on off Reddy, who finally got a sizeable chunk of bowling overs.
Phillips struggled to get his rhythm before growing in confidence by striking Arshdeep for a straight six and following up with two boundaries off Reddy in successive overs to quickly move into the 40s. It also helped New Zealand’s cause that India relied heavily on their seamers, with only three overs of spin bowled by Kuldeep (due to the fear of him being taken apart for aplenty) until the 30th over, when Jadeja was finally introduced into the attack.
Phillips brought up his fifty in 53 balls, while Mitchell continued his prolific run against India by bringing up his second successive century in 107 balls. Phillips then shifted gears seamlessly to reach his century in 83 balls. From 21 off 36 deliveries, he accelerated to add 79 off his next 47 without appearing rushed.
After the duo hit a flurry of sixes against Jadeja and Kuldeep, India made a fightback when Arshdeep dismissed Phillips when a wide cutter from him was edged to the keeper, before Siraj removed Mitchell for his highest ODI score, with a well-directed bouncer.
Kuldeep then trapped Mitchell Hay lbw with a googly, while Foulkes fell when attempting a reverse scoop off Arshdeep, which led to him finding short third man with ease. But Bracewell easily cleared the boundary ropes four times, while Clarke impressed with a straight drive and a towering six before falling to Rana. Despite that, New Zealand managed to post a strong total and fulfilled their quest to win their first-ever bilateral ODI series in India.
Brief scores:
New Zealand 337/8 in 50 overs (Daryl Mitchell 137, Glenn Phillips 106; Arshdeep Singh 3-63, Harshit Rana 3-84) beat India 296 all out in 46 overs (Virat Kohli 124, Nitish Kumar Reddy 53, Harshit Rana 52; Kristian Clarke 3-54, Zakary Foulkes 3-77) by 41 runs