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Axar Patel has become the highest placed India bowler in the latest ICC ODI rankings after breaking into the top-10…

Amit Mishra with teammates gestures towards the pavillion after taking five wickets. (AFP Photo) VISAKHAPATNAM: The frustration of having to…

Amit Mishra (second right) gestures towards the pavillion after taking five wickets during the fifth ODI against NZ. (AFP Photo)…

Amit Mishra holds the winner’s trophy and poses with team members. (AFP Photo) India completed a 3-2 series win over New Zealand by beating them in the decider at Vizag by 190 runs. Here we look at the several passages of play that stood out during the match.India appreciate ‘Nayi Soch’Players of the Indian team sported jerseys with their mother’s name printed on the back during the fifth ODI against New Zealand at Visakhapatnam. The gesture came in response to an ad campaign launched by Star India called ‘Nayi Soch’, that highlights the importance of mothers all over the country. Openers Ajinkya Rahane and Rohit Sharma then walked out to bat with ‘Sujata’ and ‘Purnima’ written above their jersey numbers instead of their surnames which refer to their fathers’ family names. Rohit fifty keeps India afloatRohit Sharma’s scores in the series prior to the final ODI were 14, 15, 13 and 11, a far cry from how he usually performs in the ODIs. Being the more experienced of the two openers, he was also one of the prime reasons why India’s start was sluggish throughout the series. So when it came to the series decider, ‘The Hitman’ found his old self and scored a crucial half-century. Crucial, because it wasn’t the easiest of surfaces to bat on.ALSO READ: Amit Mishra five-for spins India to series winEven though India’s start was slow, Rohit timed a couple of good hits – a six over long off and a boundary towards square leg. The floodgates though really opened when Rohit advanced to Sodhi and sent him over the sidescreen. Having twisted his ankle while diving for a single, he accelerated the innings with poised support from Kohli. With a cracking cut, Rohit brought up his 29th fifty in ODIs. A forward punch for six off Neesham stood out.Timely partnerships save India the blushesThat India put on 269 on the board owes largely to three pivotal partnerships during the innings. The first was between Rohit and Virat Kohli who put on a run-a-ball 79. The pair batted with caution when the scoring seemed difficult and later on with aggression once they got their eye in. After the fall of Rohit’s wicket, Kohli got together with India’s newest No. 4 MS Dhoni and added another 71 important runs.India found themselves at the wrong end of the tunnel once they lost Dhoni and later Kohli with the score on 220. But some lower-order blows from Kedar Jadhav and Axar Patel was equally detrimental to India’s total. Jadhav scored two fours and a six, and along with Axar, added 46 runs in the fag end of the innings.Pandey caps off disappointing series with a noughtManish Pandey was quite the cynosure of all eyes after his match-winning hundred in Australia earlier this year in January. But this series was a forgettable one for the explosive Karnataka batsman. He had a chance to cement a place in the Playing XI with the uncertainty over Suresh Raina. But his scores this series read unsatisfactory numbers: 17, 19, 28*, 12 and 0 here in Vizag. The manner on which he got out was further infuriating. India had just lost Dhoni and needed him to partner Kohli, who was going well. But off the fifth ball, he slog swept Ish Sodhi and slog swept him to Trent Boult and deep-midwicket. It’s a golden chance thrown away especially with India needing someone new to take over the role of a finisher.Umesh gets Guptill againIn the fourth ODI at Ranchi, Martin Guptill shrugged off his poor form. New Zealand would have expected him to carry it forward here as well but Umesh Yadav had other plans. He cleaned up Guptill in almost a replay from the dismissal at Kotla. Like the second ODI, Umesh bowled a similar ball, moving away at the last moment. Guptill brought his bat down but the ball shaped away slightly, beat the edge, clipped his thigh guard and disturbed the woodwork. More importantly, New Zealand lost their first wicket without a score on the board and it led to something quite dramatic.New Zealand slump to one of their worst collapsesChasing 270 to win, New Zealand dished out a rather sub-standard performance, and from 63/2, lost their final eight wickets for all of 16 runs. New Zealand were overwhelmed by the Indian spinners and folded for 79, their fifth-lowest total in ODIs. It wasn’t that the surface was that bad to bat on. In fact, for a moment Kane Willimson made batting look easy. But when he went, it all went downhill from there. Only thee batmen got to double figures, while five registered ducks.Mishra magic floors New ZealandAmit Mishra is usually warming the benches when R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja are part of the squad. In this series, he has proven why India need to take him seriously even in the presence of the two premier spinners. Mishra led the Indian bowling pack with a second five-wicket-haul in ODIs that earned him the Man-of-the-Match award. He generated vicious turn on a few occasions and kept attacking the stumps. Result: 5/18. The wicket of BJ Watling in particular was a treat to the eyes. Mishra set him up well. He bowled consecutive legbreaks and followed it with a perfect googly that went between Watling’s bat and pad and crashed onto the stumps. He was also named Man of the Series for picking up 15 wickets.
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Williamson was New Zealand’s top-scorer of the day with 27. (AP Photo) VISAKHAPATNAM: Bruised and battered by India after being bundled out for a meagre 79 while chasing 270 in the series-deciding fifth and final ODI, New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson today termed the performance of his batting department as “frustrating”.
Williamson said the Kiwi batsmen did not justify to lose eight wickets for just 16 runs.
“That’s what’s so frustrating, because we failed as a batting unit.The spinners of the Indian side bowled very well but I don’t think it is justified to lose 8 wickets for 16 runs. We need to look at some of our plans. There was turn in the pitch in some other games too but we were able to handle it better then,” Williamson said after their massive 190-run defeat in the fifth and final ODI.
“Unfortunately, sometimes the biggest, brightest lessons come from failures and defeats. I certainly hope to learn from here. It was extremely a good effort to take it to the fifth ODI but sitting here after all that, it’s frustrating. The better team certainly won today.
“We certainly weren’t good today. No excuses. India were just the better side. They were consistent throughout the series,” he added.
Ranked ahead of India by one rung, world no. 3 New Zealand showed resilience to bounce back after a 0-3 whitewash in the Test series as they had leveled the five-match ODI rubber 2-2 with a 19-run win in Ranchi.
“Yeah, it’s extremely disappointing. You know, after a tough Test series to bounce back and show the heart that was required, the fight that we needed to go 2-all against a very good Indian side, was a superb effort,” Williamson said.
“They got above-par initially with the bat on a tough surface. There are certainly no excuses from our end, we were extremely poor with the bat today,” he said.
A win would have been made history for the Black Caps, who have never beaten India at home earlier in four contests.
The Kiwi skipper said it’s all about regrouping after going back home when they host Pakistan for two Tests before a packed ODI calendar involving Australia, Bangladesh, South Africa and the Champions Trophy in June next year.
“Yeah, it’s tough to say at the moment. We’re going to go back home and play in very different conditions. At the moment we want to reflect on our performance here. We were somewhat disappointing, barring a couple of games. We want to be showing steps of improvement everyday,” Williamson said.
He further credited India for setting up a challenging 270-run target on a tough batting surface at the Dr YSR ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium here.
“Ideally we would’ve liked to have restricted them to much less. The way the put together partnerships on a pitch that was slow was a very good effort. They kept going at 5 runs an over on this pitch, they certainly deserved to win today. They were fantastic,” he said.
Opener Rohit Sharma returned among runs with a fine 70, while an ever-consistent Virat Kohli slammed 65 before Mahendra Singh Dhoni (41), Kedar Jadhav (39 not out) contributed to take India to 269 for six after electing to bat.
“They had a good score on the board on that surface, but we knew that if we could get partnerships together, who knows, we could’ve done better,” Williamson said.
Despite the losses, Williamson pointed out at the positives they would take home from tour.
“He (Mitchell Santner) has been outstanding. Certainly a highlight from our tour. A young cricketer, who is newish to our side. Although conditions were favourable to spinners here there are a lot of spinners who come here and struggle.
“I guess it’s because of the pace of the wicket against extremely good players of spin. Mitch (Santner) has performed day in and day out. He’s a great asset to have. Not to mention his batting and his fielding as well. Look forward to seeing his progression in the future,’ he said.
“I think Tom Latham was outstanding. We need to take those little good bits and look at someone like Virat (Kohli).”
Ross Taylor has had a forgetful outing not only with his bat but with his fielding as well but Williamson came out in defence of the senior batsman.
“I think if you look at any winning performance, there are one or two significant performances. If you look at the India side, there’s Virat (Kohli). I think pretty much every game he made significant contributions for his side. Sometimes the conditions weren’t ideal to play on but someone has to step up and whoever that person is, we need a lot more,” he said.
Williamson was New Zealand’s top-scorer of the day with 27 before being dismissed by an expansive inside-out shot that triggered the collapse.
“It is a tough one. You feel like it’s a good option to play that shot and if you get out, you question it. Here I am questioning it,” he said.
“For Ross (Taylor) and I to take it deeper, it would’ve been a lot better for our cause. Obviously, it wasn’t happening for us today. We both got dismissed when we needed at least one of us to hang in there and take the game deep.”
He also praised Indian spinner Amit Mishra’s match-winning performance both in the decider and the series.
“To get fifer for any bowler on any surface is a significant performance. He (Mishra) bowled very well today. I think it’s justified in him getting the man-of-the-match and the man-of-the-series. He has been very consistent. We were poor and India were very good,” Williamson signed off.
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Amit Mishra leaves the ground at the end of the fifth ODI. (AP Photo) VISAKHAPATNAM: It’s not easy if one is not an automatic choice in the playing XI but if there is a coach like Anil Kumble who can give a pat on the back during lean phase it becomes easier, feels Amit Mishra, who has been the stand-out bowler in just concluded ODI series with 15 wickets.
ALSO READ: Amit Mishra five-for spins India to series win
Mishra grabbed 5/18 in India’s 190-run rout of New Zealand and earned the Man of the Series award for his consistent performances.
“His (Anil Kumble) mental support is the biggest thing for me. I sat out for the entire Test series but he supported me mentally and told me “don’t worry, your time will come”,” Mishra, said at the post-match media conference.
Mishra also said how Kumble’s invaluable tips helped him.
“Whenever I went to bowl in the nets, he always gave me tips on how to improve your bowling, like the seam position… He told me “you can improve batting also”. He’s always there to rectify your small mistakes,” Mishra explained on Kumble’s role.
Having missed the Test spot to Indian premier spinner R Ashwin, Mishra played all five matches of the ODI series as the offspinner is rested for the ODIs.
“At this stage of career, I have to perform. I am a wicket-taking bowler. It has become a sort of ‘trademark’ that ‘Amit ayega to wicket nikalega’ (Amit will always give a breakthrough),” Mishra who will turn 34 next month, added.
Asked if he regrets about not getting fair share of chances, Mishra’s disappointment was palpable bit he tried to reason it out.
“I have stopped thinking what’s not in my hands. I can improve my fitness, batting but can’t decide on how many matches I’ve played. I’ve prepared myself mentally in such a way that whenever there’s an opportunity I give more than 100 percent.”
“I’m happy for all the hard work I’ve put in. I’ve performed well and became man of the series. It’s the second series where I’ve played five matches continuously. Highest wicket-taker and played five matches. Especially final match. It was a lot of pressure. To perform well here, it feels great.”
India had levelled the series 2-2 in Ranchi as India were under pressure to keep their clean record against New Zealand in an ODI bilateral series.
“The biggest thing was it came in the most important match of the series. Everyone contributed well, be it in batting, bowling or fielding. We’re trying our best on fitness, it all showed today. It’s about performing getting five wickets in the most crucial match and win the series.”
Asked about his recipe for success, he said: “I don’t focus on achievement. I focus on the match ahead. Focus on the match situation, on the match ahead. It adds to pressure if you think on the achievements.”
New Zealand lost eight wickets for 16 runs to be bundled out in 23.1 overs but Mishra said they were not surprised by the visitors’ abject surrender.
“We have done a lot of hard work. We knew if we take one-two wickets, we can bundle them out. Once I started there was a little concern about boundaries but Dhoni told me to bowl normal deliveries. If you get one two wickets, we will be fine’ he told me.”
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VISAKHAPATNAM: India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni lavished praise on his bowlers for the resounding series-clinching win over New Zealand in the fifth and final ODI, describing the effort as “one of the best performances by the bowlers”.
Legspinner Amit Mishra produced a magical spell to claim 5 for 18 as India clinched the five-match ODI series 3-2 with a thumping 190-run victory in the final game.
It was a perfect Diwali gift for the Indian cricket fans as Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s men carried the demolition job in style as the spinners made Black Caps’ succumbed to their lowest-ever total against India in ODIs.
“It was one of the best performances by the bowlers. This was one game where the spinners bowled with a lot of assistance. Before this when we bowled first, the wicket was always better to bat in the first half. It was an exceptional performance as there was a bit of dew. The pace at which the spinners bowled was perfect,” Dhoni said at the post-match presentation ceremony.
“Mishra’s beauty is he bowls slow, so as a keeper you have time to recover. And in tandem with Axar (Patel), who bowls flat and quick, it was very good.”
Dhoni also hailed his deputy Virat Kohli for his 76-ball 65-run knock, which according to him set the platform for the 269 for six on a difficult wicket.
“I think Virat (Kohli) was superb with the bat. We got off to a decent start. When Rohit (Sharma) got injured, the message was if you think you can’t carry on, just play your shots. Once he (Kohli) got out, Rohit gave us some momentum. We felt it was a difficult wicket to freely rotate. That’s when we decided to play the big shots. We felt 270 was par-plus but considering the dew factor that was necessary,” he said.
Dhoni said the five-match series provided the Indian team management the perfect platform to test some youngsters.
“Glad that we could rest some key players, with some big Test series coming up. I feel the batsmen down the order like Kedar Jadhav, Axar Patel and Manish Pandey gained a lot of experience.
“It is difficult to get the complete product in international cricket so the new players should be given time to develop,” he said.
New Zealand captain Kane Williamson termed their today’s performance as “terrible”.
“Without a doubt the total was a lot above par. India have played really well throughout the series. It’s very hard to look past today’s performance for us, you expect to put up a good performance whether we win or lose and today we were terrible,” Williamson said.
“We expect a lot more of our batting, and losing 8 for 20 or whatever it is unacceptable. Playing against one of the best sides in the world, there is room to learn. A lot comes on the back of losses, so tough lessons. But it’s important we take them in. The disappointment is very fresh after a performance like this though. The Test series was extremely tough, coming into this one-day series, after heavy defeats, we fought hard in some tricky surfaces. That was a good effort,” said Williamson.
“We pride ourselves on learning game to game, and today we didn’t show that. There were number of individuals who did their reputations good. Someone like Tom Latham with the bat and Mitchell Santner’s all round work,” he added.
Mishra, who was adjudged man-of-the-match as well as man-of-the-series for his tally of 15 wickets at an average of 14.33, credited Dhoni for his stupendous show with the ball today.
“It’s great for the team if I perform like this, they’ve supported me during tough phases. At the start, I was a little tense, but Dhoni told me to calm down, bowl at the wickets, and thanks to that, all went well,” he said.
“There was bounce and spin in the pitch, so bowling slowly, bowling normally worked for me. (India coach) Anil Kumble also talked to me about it before the match, to trust my strength, to trust the flighted balls.
“Axar Patel has also been doing well, and if newcomers keep doing well like this, it will be good for India. Very happy with the way I am bowling, hopefully I can continue,” he said.
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Amit Mishra floored New Zealand with his second five-wicket-haul in ODIs. (AP Photo) NEW DELHI: India needed to defend 270 runs in order to win their first major bilateral ODI series in two years. And as it turned out, did so without breaking a sweat. In one of the worst batting collapses in recent memory, New Zealand dished out a rather sub-standard performance, and from 63/2, lost their final eight wickets for all of 16 runs.
Yes, you read that right.India ran a demolition derby over New Zealand to win the decider at Visakhapatnam by a whopping 190 runs, their fourth-largest win in ODIs in terms of runs. New Zealand were overwhelmed by the Indian spinners and folded for 79, their fifth-lowest total in ODIs. Amit Mishra led the pack with a second five-wicket-haul that earned him the Man-of-the-Match award. He was also named Man of the Series for picking up 15 wickets.
The opening act of the win was set by Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, who struck crucial half-centuries at two equally pivotal stages of the innings after MS Dhoni called it right at the toss and decided to bat first. New Zealand, as it panned out, scored only 9 more than Rohit’s 70. An indication how clueless their batting was. Only three batsmen reached double figures and five registered ducks.
In an even first innings, India put up three valuable partnerships and New Zealand broke it when it mattered. India however, were pleased to get to 269/6 due to slog-over heroics from Kedar Jadhav and Axar Patel after the game seemed to be going either way at a stage. Four of the five matches at Vizag have been won by the side chasing. Not this time though.
India were given an early advantage when Umesh Yadav removed Martin Guptill for his second duck of the series. It was almost a replay of his dismissal at the Kotla – a perfect away swinger which clipped Guptill’s thigh pad and crashed onto the stumps. On other occasions, Umesh was full and Tom Latham, confident of the form he’s been in, drove him handsomely for a couple of boundaries early on before the two-paced nature of the surface got the better of him.
Kane Williamson did the same. What stands out about him is his foot movement – rarely is he seen stuck while playing his shots. With back-to-back boundaries off Jasprit Bumrah, Williamson was beginning to look authoritative but his little charge was halted by Axar Patel who was immaculate with his wicket-to-wicket line. A half-hearted loft towards long off saw the back of him. Ross Taylor struggled for the most part of his innings as well and offered a feather to Dhoni going for a cut.
And that opened the floodgates. Mishra foxed BJ Watling with a dream googly, and followed it with the wickets of Jimmy Neesham and Tim Southee in the next over. Neesham dismissal was a ripped with the ball turning viciously to take his off stump, while Dhoni completed yet another lightning quick stumping – of Southee. With New Zealand falling like a pack of cards, debutant Jayant Yadav had his moment in the sun, trapping Corey Anderson leg before for his maiden international wicket.
Ish Sodhi top edged to Rahane and gave Mishra his fifth.
Earlier, Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane gave India their slowest start of the series – 45 runs in the first 10 overs. They got the odd boundary but lacked fluency in the overall scoring. Rahane initially cracked two fours in two overs to settle things but was later bogged down. Batting wasn’t easy – the balls mostly came slower off the surface. Southee and Trent Boult did well to roll their fingers over the ball.
Its reward went to Neesham, who had Rahane chipping to midwicket. Williamson did the right thing by introducing Mitchell Santner and Sodhi which tightened things. Even the arrival of Virat Kohli didn’t help much and India were reduced to scoring less than five an over. It was more of a caution by choice.
In between, Rohit timed a couple of good hits – a six over long off and a boundary towards square leg. The floodgates though really opened when Rohit advanced to Sodhi and sent him over the sidescreen. Having twisted his ankle while diving for a single, he accelerated the innings with poised support from Kohli. With a cracking cut, Rohit brought up his 29th fifty in ODIs. A forward punch for six off Neesham stood out.
With Rohit connecting and finding the boundaries, Kohli bided his time. Oddly enough, the gap between his first and second boundary was 11 overs. Such was the difficulty India faced. The batsmen were helped by a dropped chance each. Rohit, going for one shot too many, miscued a Boult bouncer to find Neesham.
Kohli, who attempted at breaking the shackles in the 30th over from Sodhi. He dispatched the legspinner over the long-off boundary and MS Dhoni followed it up with a four. The re-introduction of seamers helped India’s run-scoring. And for a change, it was Dhoni reaping the benefit of it. He targeted the area between square leg and fine leg, and scored three four in that direction. Dhoni and Kohli brought up the fifty-run stand, but just when it seemed they were setting the stage for a flourishing finish, Dhoni missed a sweep and was trapped leg-before by Santner.
New Zealand then hit back. Manish Pandey slogged to Sodhi four balls later. Kohli had to fight hard for his 38th ODI fifty, but perished in order to lift the scoring. That India somewhat recovered to reach the score they did from 220 owed to a gutsy effort from Jadhav. He got three fours and a six at the dying stages of the innings. He and Axar added 46 in 39 balls to give India what seemed a slight edge at the innings break.
Brief scores:India 269/6 (Rohit Sharma 70, Virat Kohli 65; Trent Boult 2/52) beatNew Zealand 79 all out (Williamson 27; Mishra 5/18) by 190 runs to win series 3-2.
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