5 things that helped India win the 5th ODI
India won the final ODI against New Zealand on Sunday at the Westpac Stadium in Wellington. With this, India wrapped up the ODI series 4-1 in their favour.
The Indian fans were upset with the defeat in the fourth ODI where the Indian team was bundled out on a low score of 92 runs. It could have been the same story all over again after the Kiwis reduced India to 18 for 4 in the 5th ODI. But it wasn't to be the case as Team India came up with a superb performance and won the match by 35 runs.
So, let us now look at the points that helped India take the fifth ODI.
#1 Partnership between Rayudu-Shankar
Team India won the toss and decided to bat first. But the top order was demolished in the same way as the fourth ODI. India was already four wickets down with just 18 runs on the board. Rohit, Dhawan, Shubman, and Dhoni were back in the pavilion in the blink of an eye.
The team had a strict requirement of a partnership, and that came in the way of Ambati Rayudu and Vijay Shankar. The duo struck a much-needed partnership of 98 runs for the fifth wicket which helped India come back in the match.
#2 Cameos from Pandya and Jadhav
Rayudu got out on 90 in the 44th over of the match, and the team needed a finish. In came Jadhav who played a vital inning of 34 runs and then Pandya ended the innings with a flourish, scoring 45 runs off just 22 balls. He hit five sixes which helped the team reach a respectable total of 252 runs.
#3 Shami's return
One of the biggest weakness in the team in the fourth ODI was that of Mohammed Shami. Everyone felt that if Shami would have been there, then he would have helped in getting early breakthroughs which could have turned the match.
Thankfully, Shami was included in the fifth ODI, and he picked the wicket of both the openers in Colin Munro and Henry Nicholls. He finished with figures of 2/35 in 8 overs and proved that it was not wrong to give him a chance in place of Bumrah. Shami is the biggest plus for Team India in the limited overs format before the World Cup. He also received the Man of the Series award for his outstanding bowling in the New Zealand series.
#4 Everyone showed up in bowling
In this match, India did not have the pair of Kuldeep and Chahal but, that did not bother Chahal as he picked up three wickets and helped the team win. The special thing was that he caught all the three batters LBW. These wickets were of Latham, Grandhomme, and Astle. Chahal finished his spell with the figures of 3/41.
Overall, the bowlers did their job in this match. Pandya took Taylor's wicket, who is considered to be the most dangerous batsman in the New Zealand lineup. Likewise, Jadhav took the wicket of Kane Williamson, which was a big break for the team. The Kiwi batters also helped India's cause by playing rash shots.
#5 The coordination between Dhoni-Rohit
The final reason was the leadership. Not only Rohit Sharma but the way Mahendra Singh Dhoni played his part behind the wickets and in helping the field placement was good to see. Although the veteran could not contribute with the bat in this match, he played his part by setting the fields and guiding the bowlers.
Williamson's wicket was the result of Dhoni's brain. He asked Jadhav to bowl outside the off stump, and as a result, Williamson played a false shot and fell in the trap. Jadhav was seen dancing after taking Williamson's wicket while Dhoni was smiling as usual. On the other hand, Rohit continued to do his job as a stand-in captain.
After winning the match, Rohit Sharma said that it was a complete team performance. He was right in saying that as the team looked balanced and everyone played their part well.