India bowlers bail batters out to secure New Zealand series win in tense finale

Detailed summary

India's batters made 209 look a lot less than it was, but the bowlers refused to let the series slip away. Arshdeep Singh led the fightback with a timely three-wicket haul as India beat New Zealand by 22 runs to seal the series 3-1.

Brief Scores: India (209 all-out) beat New Zealand (187 all-out in 48.1 ovs) by 22 runs. Arshdeep (3/30)

A total of 209 was never going to make for a comfortable afternoon. And with questions around Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, the 2027 World Cup and India's batting order refusing to go away, the Indian dressing room had plenty to think about before walking out to defend it. Their bowlers were perhaps the last card left to play.

India beat New Zealand by 22 runs to seal the ODI series, handing Gambhir his first ODI overseas series win and some much-needed breathing room.

Arshdeep Singh led the charge with three wickets, but this was a collective effort. Mohammed Siraj made a timely return, Auqib Nabi impressed and debutant Yash Thakur chipped in, ensuring India's pace attack did not miss Gurnoor Brar.

Shreyas Iyer also deserves credit for trusting his quicks. He held back the spinners until the 36th over, allowing the pacers to do most of the damage. The conditions helped too. Unlike the previous ODI, there were no two-faced pitch troubles this time. Both teams had to deal with movement and uneven bounce, while India's quicks found swing as the evening wore on.

The bowlers had rescued a series that India's batters had made unnecessarily difficult. India ended New Zealand's unbeaten home ODI series run, which had stood since 2019, and handed Gautam Gambhir his first ODI series win overseas as head coach. Not a bad day's work for an attack defending 209.

They say patience is the name of the game. India's batters, however, seemed to have missed that memo and Gambhir's press conference entirely.

After being bowled out for 89 in the previous ODI, they needed to give themselves time at the crease. Instead, they were three down inside nine overs, with the scoreboard reading 34/3.

Gambhir had practically spelt it out after the 244-run defeat in the fourth ODI. The India head coach had spoken about respecting the first 10 overs rather than chasing an ambitious start.

Opening of the article, excerpted from India Today. To read the rest, open the article on the publisher's site.