Visakhapatnam: Amit Mishra (5-18) produced a magical spell to claim a five-wicket haul as India clinched the five-match ODI series 3-2 with a thumping 190-run victory in the final game here, Saturday.
It was a perfect Diwali gift for the Indian cricket fans as Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s men carried the demolition job in style as the spinners made Black Caps’ succumbed to their lowest-ever total against India in ODIs.
Batting first, India scored 269 for six on a surface where scoring was difficult as Rohit Sharma (70, 65b, 5×4, 3×6) and Virat Kohli (65, 76b, 2×4, 1×6) hit half centuries. In reply, New Zealand were bundled out for a paltry 79 in only 23.1 overs. There were five New Zealand batsmen who failed to open their account.
Man of the match and also series, Mishra was supported well by Axar Patel (2-9) and Jayant Yadav (1-8). The leg-spinner, who did not get a chance during the Test series ended up with 15 wickets in the five-match series.
A score of 270 on a surface where the ball wasn’t coming onto the bat would have been a challenge but New Zealand would have hardly imagined that wickets will fall in a heap when they were placed at 63 for two. The visitors lost eight wickets with addition of just 16 runs dashing hopes of their first bilateral series win in India.
Umesh Yadav (1-28) removed Martin Guptill in the first over. Skipper Kane Williamson (27, 40b, 4×4) and New Zealand’s most consistent batsman of the series, Tom Latham (19, 17b, 3×4) tried to build a partnership but before they could settle down, a fit-again Jasprit Bumrah (1-16) dismissed Latham.
Little did they know that they would crash in no time as Dhoni employed spin-force full on from both ends to script the Kiwis’ collapse.
Earlier India responded well to skipper’s decision to bat first after winning the toss, as the Indian vice-captain Kohli who scored the maximum runs in the series, was involved in two crucial 50-plus partnerships, first with Sharma and then with Dhoni (41, 59b, 4×4, 1×6) after Ajinkya Rahane’s (20, 39b, 3×4) dismissal in the 10th over.
But they averted danger with Kedar Jadhav (39 n o, 37b, 2×4, 1×6) playing a cameo along with Axar Patel (24, 18b, 1×4, 1×6) adding 46 for the sixth wicket.
Honouring mothers
India cricketers wore jerseys bearing their mother’s names instead of their own in the fifth and final ODI against New Zealand at the ACA-VDCA Stadium here, Saturday. This initiative ‘Nayi Soch’, is part of a new campaign started by Star India in collaboration with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to highlight the importance of mothers in our lives.
Agencies
