Indore: It is lonely at the top, they say. On a bustling Sunday evening in Indore, Virat Kohli’s hundred – his 54th in the format – unfolded in near solitude. The loneliest figure in India’s 338-run chase was the most assured. But it ended in a 41-run defeat for India. The 2-1 series win is New Zealand’s first in an ODI bilateral series in India.
While India’s chase unravelled through rushed decisions and broken partnerships, Kohli’s hundred held its shape. It was a reminder of standards being upheld and those who refuse to abandon them often being left to battle on their own.
For a brief period, Kohli had the support of another Delhi boy, Harshit Rana, who was operating on pure belief and intent. His 43-ball 52 was an innings that made it look like India were on their way to conjuring up one of their great rescue acts. Yet, it wasn’t enough to pull India out of the pits.
India needed 61 in the last six overs and all Kohli needed was a partner to hold the other end while he pulled off his magic chasing 338. Before Rana, Nitish Reddy (53) was an able ally before yet another miscued shot proved his undoing.
And there’s only so much you can do alone, especially when you have just two wickets in hand. In trying to take the team across the line, Kohli played a lofted off-drive but Daryl Mitchell gobbled it, dismissing Kohli for 124. The innings wrapped up in the same over with Kuldeep Yadav the last wicket to fall.
India came into the decider with history on their side. Seven matches at Indore, seven wins, 100% record at a venue known for turning cricket matches into run-fests.
The surface, typically a belter, again lived up to its reputation under daylight as New Zealand produced two centurions. And yet, Glenn Phillips, after his 106 off 88 balls, later sounded a warning: it wasn’t quite as flat as it looked. The pitch was in fact two-paced, rewarding those willing to work through its subtle inconsistencies.
While Kohli looked like he was batting on a different level, Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul were all back in the hut early, succumbing to the tricks of the pitch and some bowling brilliance from New Zealand.
Yet again, New Zealand’s bowling – depleted and young – stood tall against India’s mighty batting. Kristian Clarke and Zakary Foulkes finished with three wickets apiece while spinner Jayden Lennox impressed with 2/42.
Mitchell-Phillips show
Phillips’s assessment looked apt, as New Zealand had weathered early jolts that had left them reeling at 5/2 thanks to a persevering partnership. One that wrestled the middle overs away from India. Daryl Mitchell and Phillips didn’t merely accumulate, they set the pace and, in the process, rendered India’s spinners largely peripheral.
The much-awaited contest between Mitchell and Kuldeep Yadav arrived in the 17th over and it began with a bang. Mitchell jumped out of his crease first ball and launched Kuldeep back over his head for six. It was the sixth six Mitchell has hit off Kuldeep in ODIs, underlining a match-up he has increasingly dominated. From that point on, India’s primary middle-overs threat was effectively taken out of the equation.
Mitchell was fluent throughout, scoring his second century of the series, and adding to a formidable recent record against India that included World Cup scores of 130 and 134 in India.
Only three overs of spin had been bowled by the 29th, all by Kuldeep, with Jadeja held back until the 30th. The short boundaries and Nitish Reddy’s (0/53) impressive first spell encouraged India to persist with pace. Reddy, however, struggled to maintain that control in his second spell, as did Harshit Rana (3/84) once the batters settled.
Mitchell’s acceleration was seamless – a chipped six down the ground off Arshdeep Singh (3/63) followed by two boundaries off Reddy took New Zealand to 152/3 after 29 overs. Mitchell surged to 137, his highest ODI score.
Phillips played the perfect foil. His start was measured and cautious, it took him 37 balls to find his first boundary. But his composure never wavered. Once set, he shifted gears expertly, bringing up his sixth ODI fifty, and then a superb second ODI century.
The 219-run partnership finally ended when Arshdeep bowled a clever cutter. Mitchell soon followed, deceived by Mohammed Siraj’s (1/43) slower ball and finding deep square leg. Mitchell finished the series with a colossal 352 runs.
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