India v New Zealand 2019: 3 reasons why New Zealand lost the 3rd ODI

India continued their dominance in 3rd ODI of the series as they beat New Zealand by seven wickets and as many overs to spare. They completely outplayed their opponents.

New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson won the toss and decided to bat first. For India, MS Dhoni made way for Karthik because of his hamstring injury, while Vijay Shankar replaced by Hardik Pandya. For the hosts, Mitchell Santner was back in the team for Colin de Grandhomme.

Like in first two matches, New Zealand openers perished early. Munro edged a ball by Shami, while Guptill got out to Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Skipper Williamson had a painful stay at the crease, and he too, walked back to the pavilion due to a stunner from Pandya.

But then came in Latham, who had a great partnership with Taylor. Just when it looked like New Zealand are ready to go big, Latham got out and a flurry of wickets continued as Taylor could only muster 92. New Zealand were folded out for 243.

In reply, Indian openers started well but Dhawan once again failed to convert his start. Rohit Sharma and the skipper Virat Kohli scored 50s but couldn't capitalize. Ambati Rayudu and Dinesh Karthik applied themselves to good extent and made sure there would be no more damage done.

With this win, India have taken an unassailable 3-0 lead in the series.

Let’s have a look at the 3 reasons why New Zealand lost the 3rd ODI and therefore, the series.

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#1 Fall of early wickets once again

New Zealand openers, Martin Guptill and Colin Munro are a dangerous pair. While Munro has the ability to take on the bowlers once set, Guptill can be unstoppable on his day. But in first couple of matches, they were removed early by the Indian seamers and today was no different.

Colin Munro edged a wide ball by Mohammed Shami to first slip while Guptill, who got a couple of boundaries to his name, got out while trying to drive a ball by Kumar; a ball that held it’s line and met the outside edge.

The ever-so-reliable Kane Williamson was once again forced to do the rebuilding job. He played many balls but struggled to rotate the strike. Shami maintained a tight line and length, which restricted strike rotation. Eventually, Williamson tried to flick Chahal but failed to keep it down as Hardik Pandya took a blinder of a catch.

With the top three gone, it never looked like the Kiwis would post a formidable total.

#2 Worrisome batting at the death

The Indian bowling unit did well again

New Zealand's top order was dismissed early and once again, the onus fell on the experienced Ross Taylor and the talented Tom Latham to rescue them. Taylor struggled to get going at the start, while Latham was cautious as well. But more importantly, they did not lose their way.

After facing a few balls, both started to rotate the strike more efficiently and hit the occasional boundaries. However, Latham got out when he chipped a ball from Chahal straight to the fielder.

The need of the hour for NZ was for other batsmen to chip in and Taylor to carry his bat, however, they collapsed. Henry Nicholls got out while trying to pull a slower short ball by Pandya, whereas Mitchell Santner could only last nine balls before edging a wide ball by Pandya to Karthik.

Meanwhile, Taylor neared his century but got out to Shami. From thereon, New Zealand never really got going. The was brutally dislodged as the Kiwis could manage only 67 in last 13 overs for the loss of 7 wickets.

#3 Inability to get regular wickets

Bracewell had an outing to forget

When you get out on a below-par score, you need early wickets to stand a notable chance of taking anything away from the game. New Zealand needed to get rid of India's top 3 quickly, which they couldn’t. While they managed to get rid of Shikhar Dhawan, his quickfire 28 laid the platform for Rohit Sharma.

Shikhar got out to Boult. In walked Virat Kohli, who looked comfortable right from the start. Though both Rohit and Virat played cautiously, they rotated strike well and played out good balls without taking many risks, which frustrated the New Zealand bowlers and as a result, their shoulders started to drop.

India had two new batsmen in the form of Rayudu and Karthik at the crease, and they too justified their place in the starting line-up. Rayudu hit some delightful strokes versus spin, while Karthik looked very solid. Both illustrated conviction and made sure India complete the run chase without much fuss.