Bumrah, Kohli, Rohit keep India's streak going
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli's second-wicket stand of 230 led India to a total of 337, and New Zealand fell narrowly short of chasing it down despite the heroic efforts of Colin Munro and Tom Latham
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli's second-wicket stand of 230 led India to a total of 337, and New Zealand fell narrowly short of chasing it down despite the heroic efforts of Colin Munro and Tom Latham
Scorer: Binoy | Commentator: Sreshth Shah
10.05 pm And as the Indian team prepare to take the winning photo with the trophy, it's time for us to sign off as well. Here's Karthik Krishnaswamy's report in case you missed this cracker. The 3-match T20Is kick off on November 1, and we'll catch you then. Hope you enjoyed ESPNcricinfo's coverage of the 3rd ODI. For now, it's goodbye from Alagappan and Sreshth.
9.42 pm We await the post-match presentation. And here we go.
Winning captain Virat Kohli is the Man of the Series. He says: "Credit to NZ. They challenged us in all three games, and forced us to play our best in every game. Credit to the skill and character they possess. Congratulations to them for playing that way. I decided that I let the bowler do what he wants do do, and that's why I was calm. There was dew too, just glad the boys pulled through. To be fair to the bowlers: the wicket eased out nicely. The ball was coming onto the bat beautifully. Our last 15 overs, the bowling slowed down, so we were probably 25 runs short. It was difficult to get our shots away. But glad the bowlers came out on top: it was like a knock out game for us, and the boys showed their character. My aim is for the team to win the game and the series, and if I personally do well then it's an added bonus. (On the records) These things are hard to ignore since we keep hearing these, but the aim is to always make the team win from any situation."
Rohit Sharma is the Man of the Match. He says: Feels good when the team wins, and you contribute. Happy how we played through this series. NZ were very competitive, and it wasn't easy to come and win. We had to be at our best to win. I was watching the pre-match analysis where they said my head was falling off, so I worked slightly on it. That helped. My head was falling a bit, and wasn't coming into the line of the ball. The quickly you rectify, the better it is. I enjoyed playing today in Kanpur, have good memories personally, but not for the team. Good to change that. (On his 100 celebration) Every hundred is special, but what I was working on came off well, and that's why I was happy. Sanjay Bangar (batting coach) helped my work on some of these things, and that's when results are more pleasing.
Kane Williamson: Fantastic series, some great cricket played and in good spirit. Credit to Kohli and team, they were the better team, although by just a little bit. Lots of promising signs from our end. Losing from this close is frustrating, but good signs. The surface was good throughout, and the team that played better on that day won the games in this series. But against these guys, you HAVE to be at your best to cross the line. Our middle order stood out: Tom Latham batted with such clarity, adapted and did the role so well. Henry Nicholls too, Ross batted well. Our seamers did well under difficult conditions. India played better cricket, and they deserve the win. Santner's a pretty good spinner, so it's a tough decision taking two specialist spinners.
Kaladhar: "Easy guys. Remember Rohit and Kohli gave luxury for other bowlers to go plenty. Bumrah was good, not a MOM performance for this one."
Piyush Bhimsari: "India will surely need the services of Dhoni in the upcoming World cup,even if doesn't perform well in some matches,His presence in the team is enough to reduce the pressure off from Kohli."
vasan: "Crying shame! they have interviewed Bumrah and Chahal already; meaning the MOM will be one of the centurions. Never a bowlers' game, who mike holding promptly called as the workhorses."
Tom Latham says: The change of role (middle over role) was great. It's been a great series, played in great spirits. Coming over here is tough but for us it was to stay in the game as deep as possible. But again, they have quality seamers and it wasn't meant to be today. The score India posted was really good, and the fact that we got really close was good. The openers played well, and we probably left a little too much for the end. Great to be part of this series.
Jasprit Bumrah says: I tried to stay calm. If you try to complicate, then lot of things happened. Stayed calm, and job was to execute. I should have probably gone to the stumps and broken it (on the Latham wicket), but decided to throw it down anyway. I don't think about these things (people's pressure ahead of the final over). I was just focusing on ball-by-ball and kept expectations of people away. I try to look at the batsman till the end, but decide what delivery to bowl just before the release. It was difficult to bowl because batting got easier thanks to the due. Bhuvi was fantastic last match, it's okay he had his off days. He contributed at the end. It's okay, it happens: cricket is a great leveller. Chahal was brilliant through this series, and even in the previous one.
Yuzvendra Chahal says: Whenever I bowled slow, it spun, so my intention was to vary my pace. I just wanted to make the left-handers drive. The dew factor made it very difficult to bowl. On this wicket, you need to flight the ball, so my job was to toss it up."
Balashankar: "When you look at the scorecard of this match after some years, Rohit and Kohli would be the names you would notice. But, it was really Bumrah and Chahal"
Vishal: "A game were almost 700 runs scored, here comes a bowler who gives less that 4.5 per over not to forget his 3 wickets. A match winning performance "
9.34 pm High fives all around, and the fielders hug it out. Tom Latham looks distraught as he walks out to shake hands with the winners. The decider has lived up to its reputation and credit to New Zealand for making a game out of this after conceding 337. They will definitely go back with their heads held very high. A very tight affair. Hang around as we bring you more reactions from this nail-biter.
Snehil: "I think if India do win today Bumrah should be Man of the Match. What an incredible bowling performance under such enormous pressure."
Sam: "Have to credit this to MSD. He's been calling the shots the past few overs and reminding us why he's the greatest captain of all time!"
MJ Santner c Dhawan b Bumrah 9 (12m 5b 0x4 1x6) SR: 180.00
Sud: "Boom Boom Boomrah- more than a billion people are counting on you. Make us proud !!"
Dhoni ensuring the bowler doesn't have his laces untangled. Slowing things down.
Bumrah with the final over. What a great ODI series this has been.
India's tendency to lose while defending big totals in good batting conditions was halted in Kanpur because of small changes at crucial junctures
New Zealand captain pleased with fight shown despite losing a second successive ODI series decider in India
Individually and as a pair, Kohli and Rohit continue to rack up astonishing numbers
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli's second-wicket stand of 230 led India to a total of 337, and New Zealand fell narrowly short of chasing it down despite the heroic efforts of Colin Munro and Tom Latham
The two sides will square off in an ODI series decider for the second time in two years