The third and final match of the series is a series decider as both the teams won a game each before going on to this match which is being played in Kanpur. Winning the toss, the Blackcaps put India to bat first hoping to use the dew factor later. Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma started off well as Dhawan hit three fluent boundaries before mistiming a slower delivery to the hands of New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson who was positioned at mid-off.
Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma then started to build the partnership as both went on to score their hundreds hitting the bowlers all around the park. Rohit, who is a class act on his day, was on his way to score his third double-hundred in ODI cricket before getting out on 147 runs of Santner. Virat Kohli (113) was looking fluent as he completed his 31st ODI hundred and became the fastest batsman to score 9000 ODI runs. Hardik, who was promoted to no four couldn’t get going as he got out cheaply. Kedhar Jadhav (18) and MS Dhoni (25) contributed with some valuable runs at the end to take the tally of total score to 337 runs at the end of fifty overs.
In reply, Colin Munro started off well hitting Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who was the man of the match from the previous match for 18 runs in the first over. However, Martin Guptill fell off cheaply playing a rash shot to Jasprit Bumrah giving him his 50th ODI wicket. However, Williamson was intelligent enough to hold on to one end as Munro kept on playing his shot getting the better out of Indian bowlers. However, New Zealand lost the wickets of Williamson (64) and Munro (75) in quick succession as Chahal provided the much-needed breakthroughs as the Kiwis were striving at 247 for 4. First match hero Tom Latham (65) who was giving new batting-order in this series adjusted well playing a match-winning knock and was well supported by the experienced Ross Taylor (39) and Henry Nicholls (37). Unfortunately, Latham got run out in a critical juncture leaving the team with two new batsmen at the crease with 26 runs required off 19 balls, an easy task for the batters. However, Bumrah kept his nerve in a tight situation to win the match for India giving away only eight runs in the last and taking his team over the rope with six runs in hand giving a thrilling finish to the series.
Indian star opener from Mumbai Rohit Sharma, who had a silent series so far made his mark in this match scoring 147 runs off 138 balls with the help of 18 boundaries and two massive sixes. Sharma, who was hitting the ball fluently, was a class act to watch as he played all the shots from his book. With the skipper, he played an essential partnership of 230 runs giving enough runs for the bowlers to defend. The match saw Jasprit Bumrah bowling a tight last over giving his team a vital win leaving a tough decision to choose. However, Rohit Sharma was adjudged the man of the match for his brilliant knock.
“Feels good when your team wins and you contribute in it. Pretty happy with the way we played throughout the series. NZ were competitive throughout. We had to be at our best to win. After the innings break, considering the kind of threat they bring to the table, it’s important to understand your game and play accordingly. Pre-match analysis helped me to see where my head was falling. My head was falling a bit earlier, not coming in line. Enjoy playing in Kanpur, have good memories. Today was a perfect day. There was lots of dew, credit to the bowlers who stuck to their plans. Every hundred is special. I was just trying to do certain things and it came out pretty well. Was talking to Sanjay Bangar about what was going wrong with my batting. When the things you do off the field pay off, that’s very satisfying,” said a delighted Rohit after the match.