India trumped with a massive victory in a battle of nerves against a gutsy New Zealand, winning the all-important third ODI by six runs. They claimed their seventh successive bilateral series by 2-1 margin on Sunday. Indian bowlers dished out an ordinary bowling performance for the better part of the match, however, bouncing back when it mattered the most. Rohit Sharma (147 off 138) and Virat Kohli (113 off 106) conjured up classy hundreds to fire India to a record 337 for six after being put into bat. The target was imposing but New Zealand fought gamely through Colin Munro (75 off 62), Kane Williamson (64 off 84) and Tom Latham (65 off 52) before being restricted to 331 for 7 in the wake of some fine death bowling by Jasprit Bumrah.
Required to defend 15 runs in the final over, Bumrah delivered spectacularly and conceded only eight runs in the 50th over. He bowled an astounding 32 dot balls in his 10-over spell. Three more fours including the one from overthrow was to follow in the first over of the innings that went for 19 runs. In-form Kumar had an off day as he leaked 92 runs from his 10 overs. While opening partner Martin Guptill fell hard, Munro and Kane Williamson (64) kept visitors very much in the hunt with a 109-stand off 105 balls. The pair batted with supreme confidence on a flat surface, especially Munro who was not afraid to switch hit and charge down against the spinners.
The two had taken New Zealand to 152 for one in 24 overs before under pressure India bounced back in the match with Yuzvendra Chahal removing the set batsmen. Their fall stopped the run flow and the required run rate per over went beyond eight, leaving the heroes of Mumbai Ross Taylor and Latham a lot to do. They batted well, completing a 79-run partnership off 69 balls with their team needing 91 off the last 10 overs. Latham carried on and played flawless to take his team on the brink of victory alongside Henry Nicholls before nerves got the better of them during the business end of the innings.
Earlier, Sharma and Kohli, who became the first ever pairing to complete four double hundred partnerships in ODIs, were simply unstoppable against a New Zealand bowling attack that looked pretty ordinary on the day. Their showing also helped India comfortably beat the previous highest score at Green Park, 303 for five that South Africa had made against them two years back. The duo was in complete control ever since Shikhar Dhawan departed in the seventh over and ended up with a record breaking 230-run stand off 211 balls.
Sharma found the fence more frequently than Kohli, hammering 18 fours to go with two maximums. The two batsmen changed gears in the 36th over and the bowler at the receiving end this time, Trent Boult, who leaked 17 runs in that over including four fours. After Sharma fell to a tired shot in the 42nd over, Kohli breezed to his 32nd hundred and his second in the series, with a single off Santner.
