Kanpur: India came up trumps in a battle of nerves against a gutsy New Zealand to win the all-important third ODI by six runs and clinch their seventh successive bilateral series by 2-1 margin here, Sunday.
Rohit Sharma (147, 138b, 18×4, 2×6) and Virat Kohli (113, 106b, 9×4, 1×6) conjured up classy hundreds to fire India to a record 337 for six after being put into bat.
The target was imposing but New Zealand fought gamely through Colin Munro (75, 62b, 8×4, 3×6), Kane Williamson (64, 84b, 8×4) and Tom Latham (65, 52b, 7×4) before being restricted to 331 for seven in the wake of some fine death bowling by Jasprit Bumrah (3/47).
For the better part of the match, Indian bowlers dished out an ordinary bowling performance but bounced back when it mattered the most – in the final three overs.
Required to defend 15 runs in the final over, ‘King of Death’ Bumrah delivered yet again and conceded only eight runs.
Munro set the tone for the daunting task on the very first ball he faced, flicking Bhuvneshwar Kumar (1/92) for a monstrous six over midwicket followed by three fours including an overthrow.
After the early departure of Martin Guptill (10), Munro and Williamson kept the visitors in the hunt with a 109-run stand. The two had taken New Zealand to 152 for one in 24 overs before under pressure India bounced back with Yuzvendra Chahal (2/47) removing both the players in quick succession.
Their fall stopped the run flow and the required run rate per over went beyond eight, leaving Ross Taylor (39, 47b, 3×4) and Latham a lot to do. The duo added 79 runs off 69 balls before Taylor was dismissed, with the Kiwis requiring 91 off the final 10 overs.
Latham carried on and played flawless to take his team on the brink of victory alongside Henry Nicholls (37, 24b, 5×4, 1×6) before nerves got the better of them during the business end of the innings.
Earlier, Sharma and Kohli, who became the first ever pairing to complete four double hundred partnerships in ODIs, were simply unstoppable against a New Zealand bowling attack that looked pretty ordinary on the day.
Their spectacular showing also helped India comfortably beat the previous highest score at Green Park, 303 for five that South Africa made against them two years ago.
The destructive duo was in complete control ever since Shikhar Dhawan (14) departed in the seventh over and ended up with a record breaking 230-run stand off 211 balls. En route to his century, Kohli also completed his 9000 ODI runs, the sixth Indian to do so and fastest to get there overall.
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