India completed a 3-2 series triumph over visitors New Zealand, with a comprehensive 190-run victory in the final ODI at Vizag. In what was a tightly contested series, with Team India coming out on top with the help of some impressive performances by the likes of Virat Kohli, Amit Mishra and co.
It was a series where we saw inconsistencies in the performance of both sides and unlike in the past contests in the sub-continent, the bowlers came out on top on what were generally decent batting tracks at all five venues.
Here we take a look at five positive aspects for Team India that emerged from this series:
#5 Hardik Pandya – The all-rounder that India could benefit, if he’s nurtured
The dearth of an all-rounder that can bowl medium pace has been haunting India since a long time. Irfan Pathan lost his way after an impressive few years, Stuart Binny was tried but couldn’t perform over a sustained period.
This series saw the emergence of a certain Hardik Pandya, who made his ODI debut in the first game at Dharamsala after impressing with some good performances in Australia with the India ‘A’ team. The Baroda all-rounder had been criticised for his showing in the World T20 earlier this year for bowling too short, but on his first One-Day International appearance, he left a mark with a Man-of-the-Match performance.
He was very impressive with the new ball at Dharamsala, generating prodigious movement, bowling at a very good pace in the range of 140’s and finished the match with 3 wickets. In the second ODI at Delhi, he almost took India over the line with a gritty knock lower down the order.
Although the performances waned as the series progressed, he is one player who the team management should pursue with, as he can be that X-factor that the team needs ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy next year.
#4 Kedar Jadhav – The surprise package
Kedar Jadhav has been on the fringes of the Indian team for quite some time now, but only got his opportunities against the likes of Zimbabwe till date. So this was always going to be a crucial series for the Maharashtra lad.
Jadhav was selected for the ODI series against New Zealand on his recent impressive run with the bat in the Quadrangular A-team one-day series in Australia, where he scored 254 runs at 63.50. But nobody would have thought that he would finish fourth-highest wicket-taker in the series against the Kiwis, especially given the fact that before this ODI series, Jadhav had only one List A wicket.
Jadhav turned out to be captain MSD’s trump card with the ball, breaking partnerships at important times regularly with his innocuous seeming off-spinners without conceding many runs. He picked 6 wickets in the series, with an impressive strike rate of 18 and an economy of just over 4 runs per over.
Although there was much to be desired with his batting, he did show glimpses that he can contribute to the team. But it was his bowling, that emerged as a total surprise package to one and all.
#3 A second-string bowling department does the job
With a plethora of Tst matches lined up ahead, the Indian selectors decided to rest most of the first-choice bowling options with the likes of Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami and Bhuvneshwar Kumar not selected for the series. It was an opportunity for bowlers like Axar Patel, Umesh Yadav and the others to establish themselves as regulars.
And boy did they grab the opportunity with both hands! On pitches that were flat and considered easy enough to bat on, the Indian bowlers didn’t give an inch to the Black Caps. In all five matches, the bowlers managed to restrict the Kiwis to under par scores, and if not for the batting collapses, India would have sealed the series much earlier.
Umesh Yadav was particularly impressive with the new ball, while Jasprit Bumrah continued his good form with the ball. Leggie Amit Mishra was at his brilliant best, and was ably supported by left-arm spinner Axar Patel, who didn’t pick as many wickets but kept a lid on the run-scoring. Offie Jayant Yadav put on a good show on his debut in the final ODI as well.
With the Champions Trophy in England not so far away, the display by what was largely a second-string bowling attack will have given a boost to the Indian team.
#2 Virat Kohli’s continued impressive run bodes well for Team India
Virat Kohli. Team India’s phenom. There is a sense of assurance when this man walks out to bat. You know he’s going to make it count, you know he’s going to give his best to take his team over the finish line. And he did just that, again, in the ODI series as India trounced the Kiwis 3-2.
He was at the centre of all the three victories for the home team, with an unbeaten 85 in the first ODI where he marshalled the Indian run chase followed by a marvellous 154* in the third ODI at Mohali as India chased down a daunting target of 286 runs, and a crucial 65 on a difficult pitch at Vizag in the series decider. He finished as the top run-scorer in the series by a long margin with 358 runs at an average of 119.3 and a strike-rate of 100.84.
The year 2016 has been a fruitful one for the Indian Test captain, as he has amassed a whopping 739 runs in 10 ODIs averaging 92.37. Although there have been questions raised over the excessive reliance of the team on the Delhi batsman, with him in such fine nick ahead of the Champions Trophy, it is clearly a good omen for Team India.
#1 Amit Mishra stakes claim for regular spot
Amit Mishra is another player who has spent most of his career on the fringes of the Indian team. Having made his ODI debut way back in 2003, it is disappointing to see that he’s gone on to play only 36 ODIs since, a very low number for a spinner as talented as him.
Given a chance in this series as the leading spinners were rested, he put on a great display of spin bowling. There was a lot of bite in his leg-spinners, and his googlies were hard to pick for the Kiwi batsmen.
In this series, he picked up two or more wickets in every game but the icing on the cake came in the final ODI at Vizag where he demolished the Kiwi batters with a five-for as they were bowled out for 79 giving India a 190-run victory and the series win. Mishra finished the series with 15 wickets and claimed his first Man-of-the-Series award.
The 33-year old leggie came into the series with the knowledge that he might not get many opportunities in ODIs when the team's regular spinners returned from a rest. But with his amazing displays, he has made sure that the selectors and the team management have a selection headache when the likes of Ashwin and Jadeja return.
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