Indian team captain Shubman Gill did not shy away from expressing his disappointment after the Men in Blue suffered a 41-run defeat against New Zealand in the third ODI at Indore on Sunday, a loss that also handed the visitors a historic 1-2 series win. Despite a brilliant century from Virat Kohli, the home team failed to chase down a target of 338, leading to New Zealand’s first-ever bilateral ODI series victory on Indian soil.
Coming into the decider with the series levelled at 1-1, India had the opportunity to seal yet another home series win. However, a strong New Zealand performance with both bat and ball exposed India, particularly in the middle overs.
Speaking after the match, Shubman Gill admitted that the team fell short of expectations and stressed the need for reflection, especially with the T20 World Cup just weeks away.
“After the first match, coming here 1-1, the way we played – a bit disappointed. Lot of areas that need some improvement. There are areas we need to look back, reflect and do better. (On the positives) The way Virat bhai is batting, that’s definitely a plus always. The way Harshit has batted in this series, batting at No. 8, it’s not easy, but the way he stepped up and the way our fast bowlers have bowled in this series has been pretty good.
Keeping the World Cup in mind and where it’s going to be,, we want to give him (Nitish Kumar Reddy) opportunities and we want to give him enough overs when he’s out there and just see what kind of combinations work for us and what kind of deliveries work for him as well,” Gill said at the post-match interview.
Batting first after India opted to field, the BlackCaps bounced back from an early collapse that saw them lose two wickets inside the first two overs. Daryl Mitchell once again proved to be the team’s best batter, smashing 137, while Glenn Phillips added 106. The duo stitched together an important 219-run partnership for the fourth wicket, propelling them to 337/8.
In reply, India’s chase got off to a shaky start as both openers fell inside the power play. Rohit Sharma perished attempting an aerial shot, while Gill was undone by an in-seamer from Kyle Jamieson. Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul also walked back soon after.
Amid the collapse, Virat Kohli played a solid innings under pressure, scoring 124 off 108 balls. He found able support from Nitish Kumar Reddy, who registered a fifty, and later from Harshit Rana. However, New Zealand’s Zak Foulkes dismissed Rana and Mohammed Siraj in successive deliveries, while Kristian Clarke chipped away with three wickets. Kohli’s dismissal in the 46th over effectively ended India’s chase, with the hosts bowled out for 296. Mitchell earned both Player of the Match and Player of the Series awards for his notable contribution.
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