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India had already won the series in the first 3 matches itself and the visitors decided to experiment in the first of the two dead rubbers.
In the absence of skipper Virat Kohli, seamer Mohammed Shami was rested while MS Dhoni was not risked due to his hamstring injury. Khaleel Ahmed returned to the lineup and Shubman Gill also made his international debut in extremely tough conditions.
The Blackcaps won the toss and chose to bowl in swing-friendly conditions at Hamilton. The Indian openers began well as they scored 21 runs in the first five overs. Trent Boult inaugurated the wickets column as he dismissed openers Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma in back to back overs.
After the two openers were dismissed, the responsibilities went on the shoulders of debutant Shubman Gill and the now experienced Ambati Rayudu. But the middle-order turned out to be an extreme disappointment as half of the Indian side was sent back to the pavilion by the end of 12th over at the score of 33 runs.
The chain of wickets didn't stop even then as Kedar Jadhav and Bhuvaneshwar Kumar were soon dismissed making India 7 down for just 40 runs. Hardik Pandya then tried to build a partnership but was then dismissed in the last over of Trent Boult's magical spell.
After the specialist batsmen being out, the spin twins Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal chipped in with a handy 25-run partnership and eventually took India's total to 92 runs.
Chasing an easy target, it was quite an explosive start from the Kiwis as their opener Martin Guptill scored 14 runs off the first 3 balls. However, he was dismissed by Bhuvaneshwar Kumar on the 4th ball.
Kane Williamson also succumbed to Bhuvneshwar's new-ball spell. But a stellar partnership between Ross Taylor and Henry Nicholls eventually ensured that the hosts won the low-scoring encounter without any trouble. The Kiwis finished the game inside 15 overs and won by 8 wickets to spare.
Here's how the players reacted after the match.
Trent Boult, Man of the Match: Nice to see the ball moving around, made the most of it. Nice to chase it down as well. It swung around nicely; pretty satisfying. To make most of it is another thing. It was good fun, nice to bowl them out cheaply. I tried to pitch it up as much as possible. It was tough (going 0-3 down), but to pull it back is satisfying. (His plans for the evening) I'm not sure. I'll have lunch and enjoy the win.
Rohit Sharma (Indian Captain): One of our worst performances with the bat for a long time. Something we didn't expect. You got to give credit to the NZ bowlers. It was a magnificent effort. Something to learn for us. At times, you need to absorb pressure (when asked about how to bat in swinging conditions). We need to blame ourselves for it. Thing were looking good at that stage. It was about applying ourselves. Once you get in, things will start to look easier. We played some bad shots as well. It's always challenging when the ball is swinging. Having a good run in the limited formats for a number of series. Everyone knows what went wrong. There will be times when it swings and we need to deal with it. When you are playing for your country, you try to give your best. Good teams usually keep ticking the boxes and today we didn't tick the right boxes.
Kane Williamson (New Zealand Captain): We didn't expect the surface to behave like this. Nice to restrict them to a 90-odd total. It stood up a little bit and nipped a bit. It spun as well. One of those days, things went well. Credit to the areas guys bowled. We always wanted early wickets, to be able to that was a real step at the right direction. It was swinging, that was a weapon we wanted to use. Because we were able to put India under pressure, we were able to pick regular wickets. We exploited really well and chased down nicely as well. We always play to win and today was an outstanding performance. We'll be on a different surface at Wellington. Cricket will be different. Great to have a win today, Against a team like India, it's going to be a strong challenge. He (Henry Nicholls) played beautifully, it was challenging. Guptill whacked it around and other guys chipped in well. An opportunity to play against the best team in the world - a great opportunity to improve.
Here's how the cricket fraternity reacted to India's heavy defeat.
Mohammad Kaif
Aakash Chopra
Umang Pabari
Ayaz Memon
Mumbai Indians
Harsha Bhogle
RP Singh
Michael Vaughan
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