India vs New Zealand 2017, 1st ODI: Hits and Misses

The Indian cricket team was shaken out of its winning-daze violently by a disciplined New Zealand unit in the first ODI between the two sides at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday (October 23).

India came into the series brimming with confidence after a comfortable series victory over the Aussies last month. The team had lost just two out of their last 15 ODI encounters and looked in no mood to give up that form to the Kiwis.

However, the men under the astute Kane Williamson stepped up on the day and beat India at the very venue where the hosts lifted the ICC World Cup more than 6 years ago.

Here are the hits and misses from the game:

#6 Hit: The Tom Latham-Ross Taylor partnership

It has been long since a batting pair defied the famed Indian bowling line-up.

Youngster Tom Latham and veteran Ross Taylor did just that on Sunday, when they went on to build the best 4th-wicket partnership at Wankhede while guiding their team to a perfectly structured chase against Virat Kohli's men.

Latham won the Man of the Match award for his incredible innings of 103 off 102 balls. He remained unbeaten while scripting a beautiful end to the highest successful chase at the venue. It was also the highest partnership in a successful run chase against India in India.

Taylor brought his years of experience to the table and kept his head throughout the innings. The right-handed batsman knew that the target in front of them was achievable if the batting side paced their innings with intelligence. That's exactly what he did when coupled his vigilance with Latham's dynamism in their 200-run partnership.

The man was dismissed for 95, but definitely deserved a century for the way he went about his business throughout the innings.

#5 Miss: Kane Williamson

While the Kiwi skipper marched his troops to sublimeness in both the innings, he could not create the magic that he usually does with the bat.

He was dismissed by Kuldeep Yadav for a single digit score and that too, at a crucial point of New Zealand's innings. However, his dismissal saw the entry of Latham into the middle and thus, it proved to be a blessing in disguise.

The batting line-up has been overly dependant on Williamson's silken touch to get them across the line in the last couple of seasons. Hence, his failure today was a good test for the rest of the batsmen to step up and make their presence felt to their team as well as their opposition.

Taylor and Latham accepted the challenge as an opportunity and turned up with their best arsenal to take New Zealand to a historic victory. This failure of Williamson, therefore, was nullified by the brilliant performances from this duo.

#4 Hit: Virat Kohli

Kohli's output from the match is in stark contrast with Williamson's. While the Indian skipper was exemplary with his personal form, he could not replicate similar heroics in his captaincy on this occasion.

In spite of the defeat, this was a memorable game for the 28-year-old. He achieved personal milestones in its midst and broke a very big record.

Kohli played his 200th international match today and scored his 31st ODI century to celebrate the milestone. This hundred puts him past Australian great Ricky Ponting, and the only man ahead of him now is Sachin Tendulkar, the greatest ODI batsman in the history of the game.

#3 Miss: Shikhar Dhawan

Dhawan came into the side in place of reserve opener Ajinkya Rahane, who had a terrific series against Australia last month.

The mustache-wielding batsman, thus, had a point to make in this match, which marked his comeback to the ODI set-up. He was off to a good start with a boundary in the first over, and it looked like he was setting himself up nicely for a big knock.

However, before the left-handed batsman could make more of the opportunity, he was taken apart by Trent Boult in the third over of the game. He played a shocking shot to bring forth the dismissal and could do nothing but return to the pavilion with a score of 9 off 12 deliveries.

#2 Hit: Trent Boult

It takes guts and grit for a foreign player to come to India and perform under such extreme weather conditions. It takes even more for a fast bowler.

Boult did not just perform in this game, but announced himself to the series with a sensational spell of swing bowling. He knew the batsmen he was bowling to and thus, could exploit their witness to his advantage.

The fact that these batsmen were in home conditions while Boult was the visitor makes the latter's performance even more praiseworthy. He was a strong contender for the Man of the Match award with his 4 for 35 in ten overs. His claim to it was strengthened by the fact that the batsmen that he dismissed form the very crux of the top and bottom order of the Indian batting line-up.

They include: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, MS Dhoni and Hardik Pandya.

#1 Miss: Kedar Jadhav

The batsman from Pune had a golden opportunity to cement his place in the side, when he came out to bat at Number 4 after Sharma's dismissal in the 6th over.

He started cautiously and was slowly building a solid stand with his skipper, who was looking increasingly good at the other end. However, just as the partnership was flourishing toward the 50-run mark, Jadhav lost his cool, and his wicket.

His soft dismissal was like a gift wrapped in Christmas paper for Mitchell Santner, who grappled at it with both hands (literally) to complete the caught-and-bowled in style.

Jadhav could've had a chance to redeem himself in the second innings of the game had Kohli considered him to get through Latham and/or Taylor. However, the skipper chose to stick with his specialist bowlers on the day, thereby killing Jadhav's chances of revival in the game.