3 Takeaways for India from their recent 3-0 ODI series win over New Zealand 

Continuing their dominance at home, Team India registered an emphatic clean-sweep (3-0) in the recently concluded three-match ODI series against New Zealand.

The Men in Blue clinched the dead rubber in Indore on Tuesday, January 24, by a healthy margin of 90 runs after victories in Hyderabad and Raipur. In the process, the Men in Blue bagged their seventh consecutive ODI series at home. This is now their best-ever run in ODIs while playing in India.

The hosts, who were the dominant force in all the fixtures, won a tightly-contested first ODI by 12 runs on the back of Shubman Gill's double century. In the following game in Raipur, the Indian bowler orchestrated a comprehensive win by bundling New Zealand out for just 108 runs.

In the third and final ODI at the Holkar Stadium, a clinical team performance saw India register their first ODI cleansweep over the Kiwis in 13 years.

In a year that will prove to be extremely important considering the Men’s Cricket World Cup at home, the dominance India displayed in the 50-over series will breed positivity in the camp.

On that note, we look at three takeaways for India from their recently concluded three-match ODI series against New Zealand at home.

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#3 Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan were unable to stake their claim in the middle-order

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India didn't quite field their first-choice XI in the series, as both Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul missed all three ODIs. This led to Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav being inserted into the Indian middle-order, with both taking up the No. 4 and No. 5 spots, respectively.

However, it would be fair to say that both Kishan and Suryakumar squandered their chances as the duo failed to create any significant impact in any of the three ODIs.

While Kishan, who was handed wicket-keeping duties for the series, scored just 30 runs across three innings, SKY managed just 45 runs in the two innings he batted.

Both players have shown their mettle in the shortest format of the game, but have failed to make the most of the opportunities given to them in the ODI rubber.

Both Iyer and Rahul are expected to take their places back in India's next one-day assignment, which is against Australia in March.

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#2 Shardul Thakur could be crucial for India at this year's ODI World Cup

A true one-of-a-kind player, Shardul Thakur had an impactful series against the Black Caps. His uncanny ability to take wickets at crucial junctures really helped the team's cause as well as his own confidence.

Despite Umran Malik's great form with the ball prior to the series, he was replaced in the first XI by Shardul, who also gave India that much-needed batting depth at No. 8.

Shardul made his presence felt right from the opening ODI, where he bowled a vital last over and won the game for India by dismissing the dangerous Michael Bracewell, who was batting on 140.

However, his best performance came in the third ODI in Indore where he shone with both bat and ball. First, with the bat, he made a crucial 17-ball 25 before turning the game on its head with his three-wicket haul.

The Maharashtra lad was also named as the Player of the Match for his all-round exploits on Tuesday despite three batters scoring centuries across both teams.

The dearth of proper pace-bowling all-rounders makes Shardul an exciting prospect for India ahead of this year's ODI World Cup at home. If he continues to impress in the upcoming assignments as well, the right-armer might secure himself as a key member for the Men in Blue.

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#1 Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill - India's opening pair for the 2023 ODI World Cup ?

Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill in action during the second ODI vs New Zealand [Pic Credit: BCCI]

Easily the biggest positive for India from the recent ODI series against New Zealand was the sheer dominance shown by the opening pair of Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill.

After a gutsy decision to drop experienced Shikhar Dhawan from the ODI team, India have enjoyed a surreal camaraderie at the top of the order between the two right-handers.

Rohit's decision to go ahead with Gill at the start of the year instead of Ishan Kishan raised quite a few eyebrows. Kishan notably scored the fastest ODI double century last month against Bangladesh.

Rohit backed Gill, who performed consistently in 2022, and the youngster repaid the faith shown in him astoundingly well. The Punjab lad has undoubtedly been India's best batter since the start of 2023.

He was adjudged the Player of the Series award for scoring a double hundred and a hundred. His 360 runs against the Kiwis equalled Babar Azam’s record of scoring the most runs in a three-match ODI series.

Gill aptly complemented Rohit, who also ended his century-drought in the series. In the third ODI, the Indian skipper scored a well-made 101, finishing the series with 186 runs at an average of 62.7.

It was captivating to watch both Rohit and Gill bat up top. After two fifty-plus stands in the first two ODIs, the duo made the most out of the batting-friendly conditions in Indore and stitched a wondrous partnership of 212 runs.

The way both Rohit and Gill are currently batting together, they have grown their reputation as perhaps the most formidable opening combination in ODIs at the moment, something which augurs well for India as they build up towards the ODI World Cup on Indian soil later this year.