MOUNT MAUNGANUI, Feb 11: In a stunning reversal of fortunes, an underwhelming India suffered their first ODI series whitewash in more than three decades as New Zealand completed a 3-0 sweep with a five-wicket victory in the third match here on Tuesday.
It is the first whitewash for India in 31 years in a series in which all matches have been played. They were beaten 5-0 by the West Indies back in 1989 in an away assignment.
This came within days of India sweeping a five-match T20 series.
�They (New Zealand) played with a lot more intensity after the T20 series. They deservedly won 3-0,� said India captain Virat Kohli after the shocking turnaround for both the sides.
Henry Nicholls scored 80 in 103 balls and Martin Guptill made 66 off 46 as the Black Caps scored 300 for five in 47.1 overs. Colin de Grandhomme smacked 58 not out off 28 balls at the end to help seal the win with 17 deliveries to spare.
Earlier, India had scored 296 for seven after being put into bat, thanks to KL Rahul�s (112) fourth ODI hundred.
Chasing a sub-par 297, New Zealand got off to a flying start as Guptill and Nicholls put on 50 off just 40 balls. Overall, they added 106 for the first wicket.
Guptill smacked six fours and four sixes as the Indian new ball bowlers faced an onslaught. Shardul Thakur (1-87) and Navdeep Saini (0-68) struggled to find their rhythm and were taken for runs, while Jasprit Bumrah finished the series wicket-less.
Yuzvendra Chahal (3-47) provided the breakthrough, removing Guptill in the 17th over. At the other end, Nicholls scored a half-century off 72 balls and anchored the innings.
He added 53 runs with Kane Williamson (22), but Chahal struck twice and Ravindra Jadeja (1-45) removed the in-form Ross Taylor (12) cheaply. New Zealand were reduced to 189 for four in the 33rd over at that stage.
Taylor was adjudged player of the series for amassing 194 runs in three innings and being dismissed only once.
De Grandhomme took centre stage then and smashed a half-century off only 21 balls. His explosive knock included six fours and three sixes, as his fifth wicket partnership with Jimmy Neesham (19) came off only 31 balls.
India�s fielding was lax and failed to build pressure on the Black Caps, an apt representation of their struggles in this series.
This was after Rahul�s first hundred at number five helped anchor India�s innings.
He hit nine fours and two sixes, and rescued India from a precarious 62 for three.
He put on 100 runs with Shreyas Iyer (62 off 63 balls) for the fourth wicket, and later on another 107 runs with Manish Pandey (42 off 48 balls) for the fifth wicket. Hamish Bennett finished with 4-64 from ten overs.
India made another poor start. Kyle Jamieson (1-53) bowled Mayank Agarwal (1), who has suffered a torrid tour of New Zealand thus far. The big blow came when Virat Kohli (9) was out caught at third man in the seventh over.
Prithvi Shaw provided the initial flourish with 40 off 42 balls, but he was run-out going for a suicidal second run in the 13th over.
Iyer and Rahul then anchored the Indian innings. The former batted steadily and reached his half century off 52 balls, his third 50-plus score in this series.
But Iyer couldn�t carry on, out caught off Jimmy Neesham (1-50).
It was down to Rahul then, who crossed 50 off 66 balls. His partnership with Pandey progressed well as India reached 250 in the 45th over.
Rahul�s hundred came off 104 balls, and he perished in a bid to accelerate. This is where India�s innings fell apart, as Pandey also holed out off Bennett shortly afterwards. � PTI
SCORECARD
India
Shaw run out 40
Agarwal b Jamieson 1
Kohli c Jamieson b Bennett 9
Iyer c Grandhomme b Neesham 62
Rahul c Jamieson b Bennett 112
Pandey c Santner b Bennett 42
Jadeja not out 8
Thakur c Grandhomme b Bennett 7
Saini not out 8
Extras: (B-1, W-6) 7.
Total: (For 7 wickets in 50 overs) 296.
Fall of wickets: 1-8, 2-32, 3-62,
4-162, 5-269, 6-269, 7-280.
Bowling: Tim Southee 9-0-59-0, Kyle Jamieson 10-0-53-1, Hamish Bennett 10-1-64-4, Colin de Grandhomme 3-0-10-0, James Neesham 8-0-50-1, Mitchell Santner 10-0-59-0.
New Zealand
Guptill b Chahal 66
Nicholls c Rahul b Thakur 80
Williamson c Agarwal b Chahal 22
Taylor c Kohli b Jadeja 12
Latham not out 32
Neesham c Kohli b Chahal 19
Grandhomme not out 54
Extras: (B-1, LB-2, NB-2, W-6) 11.
Total: (For 5 wickets in 47 overs) 296.
Fall of wickets: 1-106, 2-159,
3-186, 4-189, 5-220.
Bowling: Jasprit Bumrah 10-0-50-0, Navdeep Saini 8-0-68-0, Yuzvendra Chahal 10-1-47-3, Shardul Thakur 9-0-83-1, Ravindra Jadeja 10-0-45-1.
