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So, that wraps up this three-match ODI series but this tour isn't done yet. While the focus of the senior side will shift to the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia, there's still a T20I series to be played on this tour. We could see some new faces come to the fore in that series, which gets underway on Friday. We at Sportskeeda will be here to bring you all the action from that one, of course, but for now, this is Pratyush, signing off on behalf of my partners, Soorya and Bidipto. We hope you enjoyed our coverage. Buh bye for now!
Right then. All smiles for India as Rohit Sharma picks up the trophy and celebrates his side in the celebrations. As is the norm with this side, the youngsters get the trophy to celebrate in front of the hoarding that reads "Champions". Many hope this will be the case come November as well, but that's still far away, of course. For now, India can be delighted with how they're going about as an ODI side.
Rohit Sharma (India captain): In the last six games I thought we did the right thing for most parts of the game. And that is crucial. You've got to do the good things for a long period of time. We were a lot consistent with our approach with the bat and with the ball as well. When you do that, you will do well. Without Siraj and Shami, we wanted to give an opportunity to the guys on the bench. Quality players again - Chahal, we wanted to get him into the mix and Umran, we know what he can do. I wanted to see how we can put them under pressure. I know we had runs on the board but on a ground like this I don't think any total is safe. I thought we bowled really well. We stuck to our plans and held our nerve. Shardul is somebody who has been doing it for a while. People call him 'magician' in the squad and he's done it again. (On Kuldeep Yadav) Every time I've given him the ball he has given us a breakthrough. He's an important member again. We just need to give him more games under his belt. (On Shubman Gill) His approach is quite similar. He wants to come out and start afresh which is a good sign. As a young player coming into the team, that kind of attitude is important. He's not stuck on his laurels of the past. (On his 30th ODI hundred) It means a lot to me. I've been batting well but it was just about going that extra mile. Today was a good opportunity and I knew we needed a big total batting first. (Mind moving towards becoming number 1 in Tests too?) Honestly speaking, we don't talk too much about that. It's about doing the right things on the field. How we can win the game is what we think of. We know Australia is a quality team to come up against. It won't be an easy challenge but I'm sure we'll be up for it.
Unsurprisingly, Shubman Gill is the Player of the Series. Here is what he says: It's always nice when you have a series and you get what you want and perform well. It's always satisfying. (Outlook while batting) I don't think I've changed my approach much when I'm out there. It's all about the approach once you get those starts and how often you can convert those into big ones. That's what I'm trying to learn. As soon as I get a start and every opportunity I get, I want to be able to express myself and convert the starts into big ones. It's all about playing according to the situation and not looking at your runs. Just looking at the conditions and looking at the bowler to try and figure out how you can be looking to score all the time. Feels nice. This was a really good wicket to bat on and our bowlers did a really good job to defend this total. At one point, it looked like the match could go either way but our bowlers did really well on this surface.
Shardul Thakur is the Player of the Match for his all-round display. Here's what he has to say: I am (very popular), I am liked by them and even I like my teammates. Everyone is here to play cricket and at some point they are going to come after you. But when they come after you it is important to stay in the moment and not get too ahead of yourself. So at that point I had to tell myself to execute the same ball next time. As a cricketer you have to be ready for all the situations. You have to be ready to bat or bowl at any time. Everyone enjoys batting. In the modern-day world it is all about batting, don't you think so? (grins).
Tom Latham (New Zealand captain): (Where it went wrong?) Obviously, the start with the ball. Gill and Rohit got a fantastic partnership up top and I think we did well to pull that back and restrict them to 380. It doesn't sound right but it was a good effort considering the position we were in. I guess, for us to be bowled out in 40 overs, needing 100 off the last 10, we're in a great position but lost too many wickets and that's where it probably went wrong. (Positives) This is our last experience in India before the World Cup. So, I'm sure that the guys who have had a good series will look back on those times and have sort of found their way to play in these conditions. The more they find themselves in these positions and situations, I feel that counts for what's to come in October. (No Tim Southee) It's always when those guys are back in the side but there's opportunities for other guys to put their hands up. It's been a great experience for everyone. The World Cup is a long time away but the more you're put in these situations, the more you learn. Hopefully, we can take the learnings into the T20 series.
It was this moment where the game had completely swung India's way. Devon Conway was seeing it like a beachball, but Umran Malik managed to prize him out and shut the doors on a Kiwi comeback. Here's a watch on that dismissal!👇
Let's hear from Hardik Pandya: I've always enjoyed bowling with the new ball. It was a very good day for me but very satisfying to swing the ball both ways which I recently started. It's really helping me. When I came back I had to work on my alighnment. It has allowed me to swing the ball since my action is much straighter. I wanted to bowl the outswinger but since my alignment wasn't right (before) it was going down the leg-side. (How is the body feeling?) Wonderful. The overs were planned but in this series, I've been able to express myself and let my body do all the talking. I need to do extra maintenance but I'm okay to spend a little more time and ensure I'm fully in rhythm. Who was advising whom during his partnership with Shardul?) Shardul has faith in me and lets me dictate terms. It was more combined but I'm grateful to Shardul for listening to me (grins). On this kind of ground, a more challenging pitch would be good. Next time if they can leave a bit of grass or juice in it, it will be good for the fast-bowlers.
India won by 90 runs and complete the clean sweep to seal the series 3-0!
Game. Set. Match. Champions. And to top it all off, they become the number one ranked side in the world in One Day Internationals. In a World Cup year, this Indian side seems to be heading in the right direction with complete performances in most departments. They stretch their unbeaten run to 6 runs in ODIs this year, completing the clean sweep against Sri Lanka and now New Zealand.
This game was set up by their openers from the get-go. Having been put in to bat first on a belter of a surface, Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill cashed in to post a mammoth total on the board with both batters posting centuries. India could have had much more on the board if it wasn't for the middle order collapsing, which might have been an indication of things to come.
Chasing a total of 386, New Zealand lost Finn Allen in the first over which pegged them back. Henry Nicholls did well to notch up a solid century stand before Nicholls was dismissed. Mitchell did his bit to hang around with Conway to keep New Zealand in the game before Shardul Thakur worked his magic. The medium pacer delivered the double whammy to dismiss Mitchell and Latham on consecutive deliveries to break the game open for India.
Conway continued to lead the charge as he recorded another century, standing tall to single-handedly take the game to India. However, he didn't have much support from the other end as New Zealand's top order crumbled in a similar fashion to the Indian side. Umran came back to have his say as he dismissed Conway, with Chahal wrapping things up for India in a game where even Bracewell and Santner couldn't work their magic.
So, India continue to build on their momentum in this format to notch up wins, even with their key bowlers getting a rest in this game. Their captain, who got back amongst the big runs today, will sure be thrilled by this performance. Stick around to hear what he has to say at the presentations!
41.2 Yuzvendra Chahal to Mitchell Santner, HOLES OUT! India complete the whitewash! Flighted full around leg stump as Santner stands tall and shanks it high across the line. Doesn't have enough legs to clear Virat Kohli as he gobbles it up inside the mid-wicket ropes and that brings the curtains down on this run-fest. India win by 90 runs and soar to the top of the ICC ODI rankings! Mitchell Santner c Virat Kohli b Yuzvendra Chahal 34 (29b, 3x4, 2x6)
41.1 Yuzvendra Chahal to Mitchell Santner, loopy leg-break on a length outside the tramline. Turns back in as Santner lets it pass. Not a wide that!
Santner can afford to smile after that dropped chance, which enables him to carry on his fight for a little bit longer. You'd expect Surya to pouch that more often than not and his disappoint was rather evident. As was the Indian captains.
41
overs
295/9score
6
0
4
0
4
1
runs
Mitchell Santner*
34(27)
Blair Tickner
0(2)
Kuldeep Yadav
3/62
40.6 Kuldeep Yadav to Mitchell Santner, BURSTS THROUGH! Fires a good length seam-up delivery outside the off stump and Santner blasts it with all might. Suryakumar hops at cover point but alas, it bursts through his fingertips and tips over his head with Santner retaining the strike
Everyone inside the circle now
40.5 Kuldeep Yadav to Mitchell Santner, FOUR MORE! A touch short outside leg stump as it keeps low. Santner hangs back and heaves it along the carpet to split the field between long on and deep mid-wicket. Pockets another boundary along the way!
40.4 Kuldeep Yadav to Mitchell Santner, fires a length delivery into the pads outside leg stump. Santner stands tall looking to launch it into Mars. Thuds onto his pads before it rolls behind square on the off-side
Mitchell Santner has decided that if he's going down, he's going to go down swinging.
40.3 Kuldeep Yadav to Mitchell Santner, FOUR! VERY STREAKY! Flights a full one well outside the off stump as it drifts in and spins away. Santner throws the kitchen sink at it as it takes the edge and races along the vacant slip region for four
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Mitchell Santner
*
Kuldeep Yadav
Video
![[Watch] A fired-up Umran Malik puts India in driver's seat by dismissing Devon Conway](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2023/01/f9ee9-16745730524415-1920.jpg)
