New Zealand v India 2020: 3rd ODI, Mount Maunganui | 3 reasons why the Kiwis won

The New Zealand cricket team thrashed India by 5 wickets to complete a rare whitewash over the ‘Men in Blue’ in the 3-match ODI series. The Kiwis are indeed back and will have the momentum in their favour going into the Test series against the Indians.

The Indian team scored 296 batting first, but the Black Caps made light work of the target and romped home with almost 3 overs to spare. It was a clinical display by the hosts, and this victory will go a long way in restoring the confidence in the side after the 0-5 drubbing that they received at the hands of the Indians in the T20 series.

In this article, let us look at three reasons why New Zealand won the match at the Bay Oval.

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#3 The opening partnership between Guptill and Nicholls

Martin Guptill and Henry Nicholls laid a solid foundation for the other batsmen to build on.

Whenever a side is chasing a challenging total, the team would always need its openers to give them a good start. That is exactly what New Zealand got from their openers. Martin Guptill and Henry Nicholls put on 106 runs for the first wicket, and laid a solid foundation for the other batsmen to build on. Their partnership also came in quick time, and they did not allow any of the Indian bowlers to settle down.

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While Guptill raced his way to 66 off just 46 balls, Nicholls scored a sedate 80 off 103 balls. As Guptill went all guns blazing, Nicholls held the innings together. It was aggression from Guptill, and caution from Nicholls. It was the ideal start from the openers at the top of the order that completely deflated India.

Nicholls was awarded the man of the match award for his sedate knock.

#2 Hamish Bennett’s bowling spell

Hamish Bennett scalped four crucial wickets to apply the brakes on the Indian batsmen.

The bright spark in the Kiwi bowling attack was Hamish Bennett. The pace bowler applied the brakes on the Indian batting line-up, did not allow the Indian batsmen to build momentum and scalped wickets at crucial intervals. The right arm pacer scalped 4/64 in his quota of overs, and that allowed the Kiwis to restrict India below the 300-run mark.

Bennett first dismissed Virat Kohli for just 9. He then dismissed the well set duo of KL Rahul and Manish Pandey off successive deliveries in the 47th over of the innings. The partnership between Rahul and Pandey threatened to knock the sails off the Kiwi bowling attack, but Bennett’s timely strikes proved crucial and pivotal. And finally, he also dismissed Shardul Thakur for just 7, to scalp his fourth wicket of the match.

Bennett mixed the length and his pace well, and was the trump card of the Black Caps' bowling attack in the third ODI.

#1 Colin de Grandhomme’s cameo innings

Colin De Grandhomme took the Indian bowling attack to the cleaners.

When Colin de Grandhomme entered to bat, the match was evenly poised. The Kiwis’ scorecard read 220/5 after 39.3 overs and they needed someone who could take the attack to the opposition and yet not play recklessly. They needed to score at over a-run-a-ball to get past a challenging total and deGrandhomme did exactly that. He came in and completely swung the momentum in favour of his side. The stocky right hander scored a whirlwind 58* off just 28 balls, taking the Indian bowling attack to the cleaners.

In a knock comprising six fours and three sixes, de Grandhomme launched a savage assault on the opposition, and put on an undefeated 80-run partnership with skipper Latham to get his side home. In the 45th over of the innings, he smashed Shardul Thakur for three fours to ease the pressure in the run chase.

If not for the stocky all-rounder’s timely innings, the match could have well gone down the wire.

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