IND vs NZ | Twitter in awe as Mitchell-Phillips combine eclipse Kohli’s superlative knock in decider

Venkateswaran N

ByVenkateswaran N,SportsCafe Editor

12

New Zealand beat India by 41 runs in the final ODI in Indore to seal the three-match series 2-1 on Sunday. Daryl Mitchell and Glenn Phillips’ centuries powered the Kiwis to a formidable total before Virat Kohli’s resilient century took the home side close before they were dismissed for 296.

Daryl Mitchell and Glenn Phillips during the third ODI against India
‌Daryl Mitchell’s amazing run against India continued as New Zealand pipped the hosts by 41 runs in the third and final ODI in Indore to seal the series 2-1. Mitchell scored his fourth century in eight matches here, while Glenn Phillips also joined in with only his second ODI hundred to eclipse Virat Kohli’s counter-attacking knock at the Holkar Stadium to pocket their first bilateral 50-over series in India.

The Men in Blue were instantly rewarded after captain Shubman Gill opted to bowl, with the pace duo of Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana picking up a wicket each in the first two overs. However, Mitchell and Will Young, after their match-winning stand in the last ODI, helped stabilise the visitors’ ship, ending the powerplay without losing another wicket as the score read 47. But Harshit struck again in his second spell to end Young’s stay, with Ravindra Jadeja taking an excellent catch at point. However, Mitchell continued his purple patch and, together with Phillips, put the Kiwis back on the ascendancy with a 219-run association for the fourth wicket. The 34-year-old hit 15 fours and three sixes during his 131-ball 137 while Phillips was the aggressor with 106 from 88 balls, a knock that included nine fours and three sixes. Though both set batters departed in the space of five balls towards the end of the innings, captain Michael Bracewell (28) powered the side past the 300-run mark with his unbeaten cameo. The visitors ended their innings at 337/8 with Arshdeep and Harshit ending with 3/63 and 3/84, respectively, in their 10-over spells.

The Men in Blue’s start was not encouraging either, with the side losing its first four wickets inside 13 overs with just 71 runs on the board. But former captain Kohli stood firm from one end and built meaningful partnerships, first with Nitish Kumar Reddy, and then with Harshit, to keep the side in the chase. Nitish hit two fours and two sixes to bring up his maiden ODI fifty before departing for 53 in 57 balls. Meanwhile, Harshit was fearless as he smashed four sixes and four fours in his 43-ball 52. But the all-rounder got out at the wrong time, with India needing 61 runs from 39 balls, ending the spirited 99-run stand with his senior Delhi mate. Virat lost his composure after the fall of a couple of quick wickets, holing out Kristian Clarke to Mitchell at long off to be the penultimate batter to be dismissed. But his fighting knock of 124, which included 10 fours and three sixes, in 108 balls, helped the home side reach 296 before getting bowled out with four overs to spare. For the Kiwis, the medium pace duo of Zak Foulkes and Kristian Clarke had three wickets to their names, with left-arm spinner Jayden Lennox picking up two wickets.

Broken!

Irrelevant

None

LOL

Yup

Gone

Captain change needed?

Tight slap

On fire

Unstoppable force

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