Billie Jean King Cup :India lose to New Zealand to remain in Group I
With the loss, India finished third in Asia/Oceania Group I with three wins and two defeats.
New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson hailed his team and the efforts of the players after whitewashing India in the three-match ODI series which ended with the last game at Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui on Tuesday.
“An outstanding performance. Very clinical – India put us under pressure, but the way the guys fought back with the ball and kept them to a par total,” IANS quoted Williamson as saying in the post-match presentation ceremony.
“The cricket smarts in the second half was outstanding to see. We know how good they are at all formats, but for us the clarity about the roles the guys had was the most important thing. The ODI side will be taking this momentum into the Australia series. Outstanding effort against a brilliant India side,” Williamson added.
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New Zealand took a sweet revenge and beat India 3-0 in the ODI rubber after winning the final match at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui. Chasing 297, New Zealand got off to a flying start and took control of the game from the very first overs.
“We haven’t played so badly, but we didn’t grab opportunities. It was a good experience for the new guys who came in. They are still finding their feet,” he added talking about the opening pair of Prithvi Shaw and Mayank Agarwal who played in the absence of regular and injured openers Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan.
New Zealand openers Martin Guptill and Henry Nicholls put on a stand of 106 runs to kickstart their quest for a whitewash over India. Following their departure, New Zealand lost some wickets at the middle to get reduced to 220/5.
Joining the wicketkeeper-batsman Latham, Colin de Grandhomme came and smashed any hopes that India had grown after sending half of the Blackcaps batsmen to the pavilion. De Grandhomme scored 58 pff 28 balls, while Latham played a perfect second fiddle for his score of 32 off 34 balls.
Earlier, asked to bat first, India had put up a fighting total of 296/5 riding on KL Rahul’s fourth ODI ton.
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