NZ v IND, 3rd ODI, 2022-23: Rain saves India from embarrassing defeat; NZ bag series 1-0

New Zealand vs India, 3rd ODI, Top Performances: Washington Sundar's 51, Adam Milne's 3-57 and Finn Allen's 57 are top three performances. Rain saves India from embarrassing defeat; New Zealand bag three-match ODI series by 1-0.

New Zealand win series by 1-0 margin after 3rd ODI washes out (Source_ ©Getty Images)

Brief Scores: India 219 (Sundar 51, Shreyas 49, Mitchell 3/25, Milne 3/57) vs New Zealand 104/1 in 18 overs (Allen 57, Conway 38*, Malik 1/31);Match called off due to rain

Player of the Series: Tom Latham (145 runs in one innings)

After a washout in the second One Day International (ODI), hosts New Zealand who had an unbeatable lead of 1-0 in the series, locked horns with India in the third ODI of the three-match series at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch on Wednesday.

New Zealand captain Kane Williamson on winning the toss opted to field first on a surface that had some juice in it to help the bowlers. India fielded an unchanged playing eleven for the game, while New Zealand brought back speedster Adam Milne in place of Michael Bracewell.

Pant-Hooda disappoint as India struggle in all departments

The recent form of Rishabh Pant is a huge concern for India in the white ball setup; he wasn’t in his full rhythm in the shortest format of the game and even in the ODI series, he didn’t stand up to stake a credible claim for an assured place in the team with just 25 runs in two innings.

Deepak Hooda too failed to use his chances well and with the senior players coming back for the next series, he will need to wait for a long time now. India’s bowling group too was under pressure, failing to take early wickets in a low-scoring game to put any pressure on the Blackcaps.

New Zealand pace attack demolish India before rain saves tourists from embarrassing defeat

Put into bat first, the opening stand between Shikhar Dhawan and Shubman Gill had a steady partnership of 39 runs before the home side fought back with the right plan to diminish India to 121/5 in the 26th over. Even though wickets were falling from one end, all-rounder Washington Sundar who managed a fine attacking knock in the first ODI game, kept taking on the bowlers as with his 64-ball 51, Sundar carried India over 200 as the tourists were bundled out for 219 in the 48th over.

Chasing 220 to pocket the series, New Zealand’s opening duo of Devon Conway and Finn Allen carried them to a rapid start with 97 on the board in the 19th over, thanks to a quickfire half-century from Finn Allen. New Zealand were 104/1 in 18 overs when rain interrupted the proceedings. Even though the hosts were 50 runs ahead of the DLS target, the game was called off due to not being able to fulfill the quota of 20 overs to squeeze up a result.

Let's scan the top three performances from the third ODI game between New Zealand and India in Christchurch.

Adam Milne took 3-57 against India in 3rd ODI (Photo: ©Getty Images)

Adam Milne broke India’s top order with three crucial wickets

On a pitch that was expected to help the bowlers under cloudy conditions, New Zealand bowlers had a job on their shoulders when their skipper decided to bowl first against India. Adam Milne was out of the T20 World Cup 2022 due to injury, but he was presented with a great chance to establish a place in the national team with good performances.

When he was introduced in the ninth over, Milne was cracked for two back-to-back boundaries by Shubman Gill, before the pacer took his revenge sending back Gill (13) with a ball that drifted into the pads of the batter, who overbalancing while attempting a flick, chipped it straight to the square leg boundary.

Even though Milne was going for runs all around the park, he kept on taking crucial wickets as he removed the opponent captain Shikhar Dhawan (28). This is the second time Milne has got the better of Dhawan in their ODI faceoffs.

When Milne came back for his eighth over, he delivered straightaway again to dismiss in-form India batter Suryakumar Yadav on 6 who played a very irresponsible shot to guide a straight ball to the slip position where Tim Southee bended down to catch the ball inches above the ground.

Adam Milne who now has 45 ODI wickets in 42 games, returned figures of 3/57 in his 10 overs.

Read More: NZ v IND, 2nd ODI, 2022-23: Game abandoned due to persistent rain; Gill impresses again as opener

Finn Allen scored 57 against India in 3rd ODI (Photo: ©Getty Images)

Finn Allen bludgeons India with quickfire 57 runs

Chasing just 220 to pocket the series 2-0, New Zealand required one good partnership at the top to make sure that they would go on to chase the target comfortably. Finn Allen has been excellent for New Zealand in the white ball format so far, and he again delivered in a vital chase.

Allen began carefully and hit his first boundary when he clipped an in-swinging delivery away past the short fine leg fielder, before slashing Arshdeep Singh as the ball flew over the slips cordon. Another edge against Deepak Chahar saw Finn Allen collecting one more boundary through the slips cordon.

Allen changed his mood as he pulled Arshdeep Singh for another boundary in the deep square leg, before nailing Umran Malik for a boundary that went like a bullet through mid-off. He was getting full support from his partner Devon Conway. Allen blasted Umran Malik again for two back-to-back boundaries; the first one was square driven over backward point, while the second one was punched off the back foot.

Soon, with a huge six drilled over long off against Washington Sundar, Finn Allen recorded his fourth half-century in 52 balls. When Allen was dismissed on 57 in just 54 balls with the help of eight boundaries and one solitary six, New Zealand eased their way to the chase with 97 on the board in 16 overs.

Finn Allen now has 387 runs in 11 ODI games with a strike rate of 94.39.

Read More: NZ v IND, 1st ODI, 2022-23: Latham's belligerent 145*, Williamson's steady 94* take NZ home

Washington Sundar scored 64-ball 51 (Photo: ©Getty Images)

Washington Sundar notches up cracking half-century

India top-order struggled against the pace attack of New Zealand as they were reduced to 121/5 in 26 overs, when Washington Sundar who was making a comeback in the team from an injury walked out in the middle.

Sundar began with a boundary that was hit off his pads through mid-wicket, before showing excellent timing as he collected another boundary against Tim Southee through mid-on. He took on Southee again, nailing him for two back-to-back boundaries; the second boundary was pulled in the gap through mid-wicket as the fielder while chasing the ball lost the race. Even though wickets were failing from the other end, Sundar kept on going after the bowlers.

The left-hand batter played a controlled front foot drive down the ground to beat the mid-off fielder before moving across to help the spinning ball from Mitchell Santner in the fine leg region. With a huge six that was hit over the mid-wicket boundary against Tim Southee, Washington Sundar recorded his maiden ODI half-century in 62 balls with five boundaries and one six.

Sundar becomes the fourth Indian to make an ODI fifty batting at number seven or below on New Zealand soil as he joined Kapil Dev, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja in the list. He now has 145 ODI runs in four innings.

What’s to Come

With the end of this series, India who will welcome senior players - Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli – back into the ODI squad after a long time, will now take on Bangladesh in a three-match one day series with the first fixture scheduled to be held on December 4 at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur.

Read More: How India shape up with ICC Men’s ODI World Cup 2023 less than a year away