The super exciting 3-0 clean sweep over New Zealand in Holkar Stadium led India to the top spot in the ODI team rankings. With the openers Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma’s stirring tons, India crushed New Zealand by 90 runs in the final ODI.
Winning the toss, New Zealand invited India to bat first hoping that chasing would be easier under lights. But India took full advantage in the game on Indian soil with an inexperienced bowling attack from Kiwis.
India started very well with the bat like in the last few games as openers Gill and Rohit build a mammoth 212-run opening stand easily. They both smashed centuries.
Shubman Gill has got his next ODI ton (112 off 78) in the game after a double-ton in the last game. Rohit Sharma has also got his ton (101 off 85) after a break. Then Virat Kohli added 36 runs to the scoreboard, but Duffy sent him back. Ishan Kishan (17) and Suryakumar Yadav (14) tried to make a stand but leave early. Then Hardik Pandya came for the finishing touches as he had his half-century in the match.
At one point in time, India looked to cross over 400 runs. But however, Kiwis managed to restrict India under 400. In total, India posts a formidable 385 for nine.
It was tough for New Zealand to chase the target. In reply, New Zealand were all out for 295 in 41.2 overs. It was Devon Conway who saved the side to reach close the target. He has scored a 100-ball 138 for Kiwis. Conway was superb with the bat, but he fought alone for the side as no designated batter could provide him support for a long time. Others like Nicholls, Mitchell, and Bracewell have got starts but they needed more to chase down a big total of 386.
Nicholls added 42 runs while Mitchell Santner got 34 runs. Skipper Tom Latham and opener Finn Allen went out on duck.
Indian bowlers were excellent throughout the match. With his 3-wicket haul of 6 overs, Shardul Thakur has become the player of the match. Hardik Pandya started the wicket chase by bowling out Finn Allen. While Conway and Nicholls trying to stitch a nice century stand, Kuldeep Yadav broke the partnership. Later Shardul Thakur came up with a match-changing spell with three wickets, breaking the backbones of the chase. Yuzvendra Chahal also got 2 wickets in the match. It was overall a convincing performance from the Indian bowling side despite the absence of Siraj and Shami.
With the win, India whitewashed the Kiwis in the three-match ODI series, making the side more confident before the World Cup.
“Feels nice when you have a series and you perform well. I don’t think my approach has changed after the double hundred. It’s all about getting a start and converting every game. Just to be in the situation and looking to score helps convert those starts for me. Our bowlers bowled really well on this wicket”, Gill said at the post-match presentation.
India on top of ICC ODI rankings
With the 3-0 clean sweep over New Zealand, team India headed to the top of the ICC Men’s ODI rankings. Earlier, England was in the top spot following New Zealand’s loss to India in the second ODI. Now after completing the 3rd ODI, India has become the first, with England and New Zealand slipping to the 2nd and fourth spot respectively.
Now, India is having 114 rating points to rate first while England is having 113 rating points. Australia moves up into the third position with 112 rating points.
