Rohit and Gill outdo Conway as India go No. 1 with 3-0 win
A three-wicket burst from Thakur proved crucial after the three openers scored tons in an Indore run-fest
A three-wicket burst from Thakur proved crucial after the three openers scored tons in an Indore run-fest
Scorer: @Thilak_Rama | Commentator: Vishal Dikshit
9.25pm Rohit collects the trophy from the podium, carries it like a 20-litre water can on his right shoulder and passes it on to his team-mates with the "Champions" banner in front of them. It gets passed around and reaches Thakur and KS Bharat in the middle with plenty of smiles all around them. Hope we got you some smiles too while covering this game. That's all from me, Vishal Dikshit, and on behalf of Sidharth Monga, it's goodbye and good luck. Don't forget to tune in tomorrow for our post-match and series coverage, from Deiva Muthu who has been going around from one stadium to another. And we also have the T20I series starting on Friday, January 27th. Until then, it's ciao ciao!
Huss: "Always a treat seeing Kuldeep doing well.."
Ravi: "so this is the highest individual score for the three match series?" Yes, joint-most with Babar Azam.
Here's the presentation:
Rohit Sharma before lifting the trophy: In the last six games we've done most things right in ODIs. We're consistent in our approach with the bat and ball. Without Siraj and Shami we wanted to give opportunities to other guys on the bench. We wanted to bring Chahal and Umran in the mix, put them under pressure. We had runs on the board, but on this kind of ground no total is safe. We stuck to the plans, held our nerves. Shardul has been doing this for a while, so some people call him 'Magician'. every time I've given Kuldeep the ball, he brings wickets. Just need to give him more games under his belt, because wristspinners get better as they play more. His [Gill's] approach is quite similar. He starts afresh. As a young players that is important. He can easily sit on top of his laurels and take it easy, but he doesn't. 20th century means a lot to me, it was important to play long and take the team to a good total. Honestly, we don't talk too much about rankings. It's about winning games and it won't be different when we play the Tests against Australia. It won't be an easy challenge but we're up for it.
Gill is the Player of the Series: Feels nice and when you perform well. It's satisfying. I've not changed my approached much. I look to convert those starts into big ones, to express myself. I try to play according to the situation and conditions, not looking at may score. Our bowlers did a good job and bowled really well on this wicket because at one point it looked like it could go either ways.
Not Rohit, not Gill, Thakur is the Player of the Match: I'm well liked by them and even I like my team-mates. At some point they're going to come after your, and it's important to stay in the moment and not get ahead of yourselves. I ask myself what needs to be done and do it the next time. I don't think too much because we've to be ready for all situations, whether with the bat or ball. Everyone enjoys batting and modern-day game is all about batting. Don't you think so?
Tom Latham: The start with the ball wasn't great and we did well to bring them back to 380. It doesn't sound right but it is, and then to be bowled out in 40 overs didn't go right for us. It's our last experience in India before the World Cup so the guys are exposed to these conditions in the three games and hopefully it'll be helpful in October. We're building depth in this group without Southee and others. Fingers crossed about my form for the World Cup. Hopefully we can take the learnings for the T20 series.
9.07pm Sampath also tells me it's six wins out of six ODIs for India in Indore. We'll bring you the presentation soon, until then some comments...
Thejus: "KulCha, Siraj, Bumrah when he is back, Umran/Shami with Hardik makes it a heavily loaded bowling line up."
Paras Dua: "These bilateral trophies and number 1 ranking is a good achievement, but would trade these with winning the World Cup at home later this year any day!!"
Manikandan: "40.6 dropped by SKY. Not Rohit Sharma" Thank you, I've fixed that.
Hardik Pandya: I've always enjoyed bowling with the new ball. Getting satisfaction from swinging the ball both ways - which I started recently - helps. When I came back I had to work on my alignment, which helped in swing and now I'm able to use the seam. Earlier my action would mean the ball would go down leg and I couldn't use the seam. Now I'm much straighter and can swing it away too. I'm feeling wonderful, it was planned (to manage my workload). I feel good and fully prepared to play the sport. I'm glad Shardul has faith in me and in our partnership it was combined but I'm grateful he listened to me. This pitch has some pace so it will be great if they leave some juice or grass the next time. It might still be a 350-360 pitch but with something.
8.57pm A comprehensive win from India to seal the series 3-0, top the rankings and complete their third whitewash vs New Zealand in ODIs. It wouldn't have been a surprise if 386 would have been chased down on this pitch given the short boundaries, the quick outfield, and the dew. Earlier India were looking set for 400-450 and would't have been completely happy with this total. But a Finn Allen duck followed by quick strikes from Shardul Thakur in the middle overs - when he got two in two - dented NZ's chances severely. Devon Conway ended his brief drought and showed why and how he scored so many runs in Pakistan too not long ago, with a sensational century under pressure. But he was struggling with cramps, running out of partners and once he and Bracewell fell, it was virtually over for the visitors.
MJ Santner c Kohli b Chahal 34 (47m 29b 3x4 2x6) SR: 117.24
Ashish: "Rohit's frustration visuals look straight out of 80s movies."
The field comes in completely to avoid the single
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A three-wicket burst from Thakur proved crucial after the three openers scored tons in an Indore run-fest