Indian cricket is going through a difficult phase. After being whitewashed by New Zealand two years ago, the problems have now spread to ODIs. India have suffered their first-ever bilateral ODI series defeat against New Zealand at home. The Men in Blue lost the series 2-1 after winning the opening match.
India let the third ODI slip badly. New Zealand were struggling at 5/2. However, the visitors fought back strongly. They posted a challenging total of 338/7. India could not chase it down and lost by 41 runs. Virat Kohli scored a fine century. It was his 54th ODI hundred. But he ran out of support from the other end.
Sunil Gavaskar Highlights Fielding Concerns
After the match, Sunil Gavaskar gave a blunt assessment of India’s performance. While he praised Kohli’s efforts, he focused on India’s poor fielding. Kohli scored 93, 23 and 124 in the series. However, Gavaskar felt the team effort was missing.
“I don’t want to take names, but certain individuals allowed single to be taken very easily. Yes, Rohit Sharma was quick, and Virat Kohli, we all know what an athlete he is on the field, but I just felt the fielding could have been a lot more proactive,” Gavaskar said during a discussion with Simon Doull.
New Zealand were under pressure early in the third ODI. Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana removed Devon Conway and Henry Nicholls quickly. Will Young was dismissed soon after. But India then went wicketless for 31 overs. Daryl Mitchell and Glenn Philips added 219 runs for the fourth wicket. The partnership changed the game.
India were sharper in the field at Indore. They conceded only three extras. Ravindra Jadeja also took a brilliant catch despite struggling with the bat. Still, Gavaskar remained concerned.
After the second ODI in Rajkot, he was surprised by how easily New Zealand chased 285.
“I was surprised by how easily New Zealand got across the line because, before they started batting, everyone thought India would be able to make use of the slowness of the pitch. With their bowlers, not just the spinners, but all of them, using the slowness of the surface well, it felt like India would be able to restrict New Zealand to around 260 or 270. I thought that would have been an easy win for India,” Gavaskar had said after the 2nd ODI.
“But full credit to New Zealand, particularly the partnership between Will Young and Daryl Mitchell. That 150-plus stand just took the game away. I think they showed how a near-300 run total can be chased down by taking your time to settle in and then backing your stroke-making ability and running between the wickets. Daryl Mitchell deserves huge credit, not just for the batting, but even after getting to his hundred, the way he kept running hard, putting pressure on the fielders, and constantly taking twos. That shows both fitness and commitment to the team.”
