Ross Taylor scored his second-straight ODI century of the series to help New Zealand beat India by a massive 87-run margin in Wellington on Friday.
New Zealand, who were put in to bat, stumbled at the start and lost their openers Jesse Ryder and Martin Guptill, with just 42 runs on the board. Their departure brought Martin Williamson and Taylor together.
The pair, who helped the hosts to victory in the fourth ODI as well, dropped anchor again. India's bowlers produced a neat opening spell. The four boundaries that were scored in the first 14 overs involved a certain degree of risk that required the batsmen to go over the infield.
Taylor began the delightful turnaround thereafter and scorched two drives, both along the ground, either side of cover in the 15th over. The second of those brought up 250 runs for Taylor in the series. At that point, he was the only one in the New Zealand top seven to have not hit a six in the series.
That over marked the start of the New Zealand onslaught. Taylor and Williamson took turns to attack the bowlers. First it was Taylor and then Williamson, who stole the initiative. Williamson began to break away from Taylor. He swept Ravindra Jadeja either side of fine leg for successive fours.
The pair put on a 152-run stand, for the fourth wicket, before Williamson departed for 88. Taylor stayed put and continued to find the gaps. He brought up his tenth ODI century from 106 balls. His innings helped the hosts cruise to a formidable 303 for 5.
India, like they've done through the series, struggled with the bat. Virat Kohli's 82 from 78 balls was their only highlight. They managed just 216 from 49.4 overs.
"The way Williamson's batted, five fifties in a row, has done a wonderful job for us," Taylor said. "We play different games. I scored a little quicker and then he caught up later and 300 was always going to be difficult to score. It's a good sign that the new players come in and do well. Henry has a good future after this performance. India will come back hard in the Tests and we'll be ready them but we will enjoy this victory tonight."
The captain Brendon McCullum said he was impressed with Taylor's performance. "In all the time I've seen him play, Ross hasn't been as good as he's looked in this series," he said. "For a guy who's young, Kane's become one of our experienced lads and has been moving from strength to strength."