New Zealand vs India 2020, 1st ODI: Top 3 performers of the match

After whitewashing New Zealand in the 5-match T20I series, India suffered their first defeat of the tour as New Zealand won the opening ODI by 4 wickets at Hamilton. With this win, New Zealand have taken a 1-0 lead in the 3-match series.

Opting to bowl first, New Zealand were successful in sending both the Indian openers back to the pavilion for just 54 runs. However, the Indian middle-order stood strong and thanks to their responsible batting, the visitors ended with 347-4 in 50 overs.

Chasing 348, New Zealand had a steady start as their openers added 88 runs for the first wicket. Although they lost a few quick wickets towards the end, the presence of a well-settled Ross Taylor (109*) and the handy innings of Henry Nicholls (78) and Tom Latham (69) helped New Zealand finish off the game with 11 balls to spare.

The match proved to be a run-fest, with several quality innings from the batsmen. On that note, let's have a look at the top three performers of the match:

1. Ross Taylor (109*, 84 balls, 4x10, 6x4)

It was a gem of an innings from Ross Taylor.

New Zealand had a steady start to their innings as the openers added 88 runs for the first wicket. However, the chase fumbled a little when Tom Blundell (9 runs off 10 balls) lost his wicket with the scoreboard reading 109-2 in 19.1 overs. While Blundell's dismissal provided India the chance to bounce back, it also brought Ross Taylor to the crease.

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Taylor looked sublime with his bat as he built his innings while keeping the required run-rate well under control. He got a reprieve while batting at 10 and made the most of it as he went on to score an unbeaten 109 (off 84 balls) to take New Zealand over the finish line.

The right-handed batsman added 62 runs (56 balls) with Henry Nicholls (78 runs off 82 balls) for the third wicket and 138 runs (79 balls) with Tom Latham (69 runs off 48 balls) for the 4th wicket to keep the momentum in New Zealand's favor.

2. Shreyas Iyer (103 runs, 107 balls, 4x11, 6x10)

Shreyas Iyer proved his worth at no.4

After trying Rishabh Pant at No. 4 for a long time, India finally decided to promote Shreyas Iyer to the crucial position a couple of months ago. And with today's innings, Iyer has justified the team management's decision.

India lost both their openers in quick succession and were in a spot of bother at 54-2 in 8.4 overs. But Iyer did not allow the pressure to build and took his time to settle in. Along with Virat Kohli (51 runs off 63 balls), he shouldered the responsibility of taking the Indian innings forward; the duo added 102 runs (120 balls) for the 3rd wicket, putting India in a commanding position.

While Iyer took 66 balls to reach his fifty, he soon shifted gears and hit three boundaries off Tim Southee in the 40th over to get to his maiden hundred in 101 balls. The masterful innings comprised 11 fours and a six, which proved to be the backbone of India's innings.

Although Iyer could not extend his innings further as he got out for 103 while trying to accelerate the scoring rate, he did his job well to help India post a decent total.

3. KL Rahul

KL Rahul- The new finisher in the town.

In recent times, India have been trying KL Rahul in all any role he can fit in. After having a successful T20I series as an opener, Rahul was handed the finisher's role in this match and as expected, he continued his purple patch there too.

Rahul came to the crease when India lost the wicket of Virat Kohli, with the scoreboard reading 156-3 in 28.4 overs. At that stage, India needed another solid partnership and some fireworks towards the end to post a competitive total.

Rahul ticked all the boxes after coming in at No. 5, thus reinforcing his worth. He added 136 runs (101 balls) with Shreyas Iyer and 55 runs (27 balls) with Kedar Jadhav for the 4th and the 5th wicket respectively during his unbeaten innings of 88 runs (64 balls).

In wicket-keeping too Rahul looked as good as any specialist. He effected a quick stumping off Kuldeep Yadav's bowling to dismiss Tom Blundell, and his assistance to Kohli while taking DRS calls also added lustre to his performance.

India lost the match but Rahul's performance in front of and behind the stumps was surely one of the positives from the match.