Ketan Joshi: India defeated New Zealand by 7 wickets in the third ODI played at Mount Mounganui. With this victory, India achieved an unbeatable 3-0 lead in the five-ODI series. Team India won the ODI series after 10 years of gap in New Zealand. Earlier, India had won the five-ODI series 3-1 in the captaincy of Mahendra Singh Dhoni in 2009. In this match, New Zealand decided to bat after winning the toss. New Zealand team was all out for 243 runs in 49 overs. Ross Taylor scored the highest score of 93 runs on his behalf. For India Mohammed Shami got 3, Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Yuzwendra Chahal took 2-2 wickets.
Going after chasing the target, Team India made 245 runs for the loss of 3 wickets in 43 overs, making the match ones again one sided. India’s opening batsman Rohit Sharma made 62 and captain Virat Kohli scored 60 runs. Dinesh Karthik 38 and Ambati Rayudu remained unbeaten after 40 runs.
India’s fast bowler Mohammed Shami having dream run in New Zealand. He took 3/41 in 9 overs in this match and became second time man of the match in series. He dismissed opener Colin Munro, Ross Taylor and Ish Sodhi. This was Virat Kohli’s last match in this tour of New Zealand. Rohit Sharma will take charge of Team India in the fourth and fifth ODIs and T-20 series.
The start of the Indian team was not good. The team got the first blow to the score of 39 runs. Shikhar Dhawan got out to Trent Boult in the 9th Over. Rohit and Virat then added 113 runs for the second wicket and made India at comfortable position. At the score of 152 runs, India lost Rohit Sharm’s wicket. Rohit Sharma stumped on Mitchell Santnar’s bowling for 62 on his personal score. After 16 runs, Virat Kohli also made 60 runs and returned to the pavilion. His wicket was taken by Trent Bolt. It was virat’s 49th half century in International One day cricket.
Rohit Sharma scored 62 runs in 77 balls with the help of two sixes and three fours in 3rd one day against New Zealand. After this one day his sixes tally is now at 215. He is jointly 1st with Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Dhoni has also hit 215 sixes in ODIs. However, for this, he has played 138 ODIs more than Rohit.
It has been 63rd occastion that Virat Kohli is leading the side in One Day International. Under his captaincy, India won the 47th ODI. With this win, he broke the record of Vivian Richards and Hansie Cronje. Richards and Cronje won 46-46 matches after captaining 63 ODIs. However, He could not leave West Indies’ Clive Lloyd and Australia’s Ricky Ponting behind. Lloyd and Ponting won 50-50 matches in 63 ODIs.