Kane Williamson-led New Zealand secured a series win over Shikhar Dhawan's Team India after the third One Day International (ODI) produced yet another no-result on Wednesday. The second and third ODI of the three-match series were abandoned due to persistent rain in New Zealand. With the hosts winning the 1st ODI by 7 wickets, Williamson-led New Zealand ended up sealing the series 1-0 following the washing out of the third encounter at the Hagley Oval, Christchurch.
India suffered a 1-0 series defeat at the hands of Williamson-led New Zealand in the absence of several seasoned campaigners. The Dhawan-led side missed the services of skipper Rohit Sharma, vice-captain KL Rahul, former captain Virat Kohli, veteran all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and pace ace Jasprit Bumrah. Seasoned campaigners Kohli, Rohit and Kohli are expected to feature in India's upcoming series against Bangladesh. After rain played spoilsport in Christchurch, stand-in skipper Dhawan offered an interesting assessment of India's performance in the ODI series.
“Going to Bangladesh, hopefully the weather will be better there. We are a young unit. The bowling unit learnt about bowling the good length area more. We were short at times. All the seniors are going to be back in the side. More Asian wickets is a more practical journey to the World Cup for us. Important to get the small things right - right lengths for the bowlers, batting close to the body in these conditions for the batters... these are the learnings,” Dhawan said after the series decider was abandoned in Christchurch on Wednesday.
{{/usCountry}}“Going to Bangladesh, hopefully the weather will be better there. We are a young unit. The bowling unit learnt about bowling the good length area more. We were short at times. All the seniors are going to be back in the side. More Asian wickets is a more practical journey to the World Cup for us. Important to get the small things right - right lengths for the bowlers, batting close to the body in these conditions for the batters... these are the learnings,” Dhawan said after the series decider was abandoned in Christchurch on Wednesday.
{{/usCountry}}Batting first in the 3rd ODI on Wednesday, Dhawan-led Team India posted 219 in 47.3 overs. Skipper Dhawan scored 28 off 45 balls before Shreyas Iyer (49) and Washington Sundar (51) guided India to a modest total. In reply, New Zealand were 104-1 in 18 overs when rain gods made their presence felt in Christchurch. However, the hosts didn't bat through a minimum of 20 overs in the rain-marred contest and the third ODI ended in a no-result.