Team India suffered a whitewash for the first time in three decades losing to New Zealand by five wickets in the third and final ODI at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui. Chasing a target of 297 runs, the Kiwis produced another stellar batting effort sailing past the target with 17 balls to spare.
Batting first, Prithvi Shaw gave India a good start but another failure from Mayank Agarwal and skipper Virat Kohli ensured India striving at 32 for two. Shaw and Shreyas Iyer started to rebuild but an unfortunate runout denied the young Mumbai lad his debut fifty. But Iyer combined well KL Rahul, whose rich vein of form continued helping the visitors look in line for a massive total. Although Iyer got out after his half-century, Rahul went on to score his fourth ODI century as India posted 296 runs from their quota of 50 overs.
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Meanwhile, it looked like a challenging total at the halfway stage but New Zealand batters made it look easy. Martin Guptill and Henry Nicholls gave India another blistering start adding 106 runs for the first wicket before Colin de Grandhomme's swashbuckling ensured the Kiwi goes home convincingly. The veteran all-rounder remained unbeaten on 58 runs from 28 balls ensuring a 3-0 win.
Speaking at the end of the match, India skipper Virat Kohli admitted that they don't deserve to win the series. However, he also mentioned that the series was pretty close and not how the scoreline suggests.
"The games were not as bad as the scoreline suggests. Batsmen coming back from tough situations was a positive sign for us, but the way we fielded and bowled, the composure wasn't enough to win games. Didn't deserve to be on the winning side at all these series. Haven't played so badly, but we didn't grab opportunities.
It was a good experience for the new guys who came in. They are still finding their feet. They (New Zealand) played with a lot more intensity than we did. They deservedly won 3-0," Virat Kohli said.
