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India vs New Zealand 2016: 5 takeaways from the ODI series

India completed a 3-2 series victory against the Kiwis (All Images Courtesy: BCCI)

With only around seven months to go before the 2017 Champions Trophy, every one of the eight ODIs that had been scheduled for India in the current home season assumed extra consequence in terms of identifying the areas to address for the ‘Men in Blue.’

MS Dhoni’s team were not in the best of form and needed a series victory to get their ODI fortunes back on track. Riding on run-machine Virat Kohli’s remarkable consistency as well as leg-spinner Amit Mishra’s wily spells at decisive stages, India secured a hard-fought 3-2 triumph over New Zealand.

Here are the five of the most significant takeaways from the action-packed ODI series.

#5 Everything comes from the top

Tom Latham and Kane Williamson
Tom Latham and Kane Williamson had to shoulder most of the responsibility

Among the reasons for New Zealand losing the series was the lack of adequate output from the lower order. While Tom Latham and Kane Williamson continued to build on their experiences from the Tests, the rest of the batting lineup could not keep up the pace.

Batting first on these types of surfaces often presents a prickling dilemma regarding the sufficiency of a total. The Kiwis often got off to sturdy starts which allowed some leeway in the consolidation process. However, spectacular collapses such as 5/32, 7/38 and 6/46 during the first three matches respectively prevented them reaching the kind of totals that could have shored up their cause.

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