Virat Kohli was India's lone warrior in the 3rd ODI in Indore, as the hosts went down by 41 runs to lose the series 2-1.
He’s done it again! He was just about to. Virat Kohli was inches close to taking India home from an impossible situation in the 3rd IND vs NZ ODI in Indore. Yes, the routine for him. However, it was New Zealand who had the last laugh.
“We’re a small country from the bottom of the world and take on big ones,” said the Kiwi skipper in the post match presentation, with a voice that expelled pride.
The visitors struck gold in the third and final ODI with a 41-run victory – sealing their maiden ODI series win on Indian soil. After having their backs against the wall in the initial moments, they came back brilliantly to turn the tide.
Cricket is a game full of moments. Hundreds of small moments come together over a period of a few hours to form a result that can be summed up in a single line.
However, the result of a game is very seldom defined by just one solitary moment, which stands as a highlight. Multiple moments come together to formulate an outcome, even though only some may shine as the highlight.
Here are a few Hits & Flops from the 3rd ODI between India and New Zealand in Indore:
Daryl Mitchell and Glenn Phillips came together when New Zealand were 58/3. The former had already notched up a fifty and a hundred in the series, and was in a league of his own. The latter came as a surprise for the Indians, and they didn’t look like they were prepared for it.
Mitchell has shown excellent temperament throughout the series. What stood out for him was his ability to play the balls in the ‘V’ as it is always taught as per the cricket coaching manual. The 34-year-old was rotating the strike at will.
To add to his finesse was Phillips, who curbed his natural attacking instinct till the both created a platform from where they could launch. As a result, the duo ended up with a 219-run stand, which was the 2nd highest ODI partnership for New Zealand against India.
It is probably time to rename the word chase-master to Virat Kohli. In terms of run-chases, the Indian ODI No.3 has given us enough moments to believe that his mind works like a computer. However, this knock of 124 was a bit different than his previous five ODI innings.
Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul fell soon after Kohli walked out to bat, as the team was reduced to 71/4, with Nitish Reddy and Ravindra Jadeja to follow. With not much batting to come, Kohli chose to dig deep with Reddy. The duo stitched an 88-run stand between them before Reddy fell.
However, another point which worked in India’s favour was that Michael Bracewell couldn’t bowl due to his injury. That meant, India has two part-timers to take advantage of, in Mitchell and Phillips. The duo started milking singles, but Reddy’s wicket came at an unfortunate time for India.
Each time India gained momentum, New Zealand pulled it back with a wicket. And it had a lot to do with the way Mitchell rotated his bowlers to bring the right one on at the right time. This is exactly why none of the batters could stay on the crease with Kohli to finish off the chase.
Figures of two wickets for 42 runs from 10 overs might come across as an ordinary bowler. But Jayden Lennox has surely got something special about him. The left-handed spinner dismissed KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja in the final ODI in Indore.
However, the variations that he showcased in his spell were amazing to watch, and were also putting the batters in a thought so as to whether to come ahead or go back. His delivery to dismiss KL Rahul was an off-spinner, which was bowled with a side-on seam. The ball did something on the pitch, which took KL Rahul by surprise (grip shown in image below).
That being said, his first delivery to Nitish Reddy was almost released from the front of his hand, with the wrist pointing towards the batter. And Reddy almost played around it to be dismissed LBW or bowled. Though Lennox will not be the first choice spinner once Mitchell Santner returns. But he surely has got the ability.
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Apart from his heroics with the bat which almost won the series for India, Harshit Rana sent back Devon Conway for the third time in a row. That being said, the dismissal had a mental side to it this time around.
For each of the first two instances, Conway was bowled by Rana. Due to that factor, Conway always had it in his mind to protect his stumps, and hence was ready for the incoming delivery. However, Rana went the other way, challenging his outside-edge, straight to the first slip.
After his 49 in the first ODI in Vadodara, Shreyas Iyer has registered scores of 8 and 3, failing to impress in both the subsequent fixtures. However, his dismissal in the final ODI in Indore had something written all over it.
For a long time now, bowlers have been targeting Shreyas Iyer with short pitched deliveries. That being said, his dismissal in Indore was not to a short pitched ball, but he still tried to go for the pull shot. The fact that bowlers are targeting him there might be playing on his mind.
That being said, the Punjab Kings (PBKS) skipper will have to up the ante. With the countdown for the ODI World Cup 2027 ticking, there would be competition for the No.4 spot. Ruturaj Gaikwad has scored a century at the same position against South Africa.
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