Virat Kohli’s 85th international ton went in vain as India fell to New Zealand in the 3rd ODI at Indore on Sunday. With this victory, the Kiwis won their first ODI bilateral series ever and broke India’s undefeated streak in 50-over bilateral wins which stretched back to March 2019. This was the latest unwanted record in the Gautam Gambhir era after India had lost 3-0 to the same opposition in Tests in 2024 and then conceded another Test series to South Africa last year, their first longest format series loss at home to the Proteas since 2000. On Sunday, India looked to be in the hunt as long as Kohli and Harshit Rana were in the middle. But the ace batter fell for 124 while the pacer was snapped up for 52. Nitish Kumar Reddy had also chipped in with a half century but the Indian top order except Kohli flattered to deceive. Earlier, Daryl Mitchell’s second consecutive hundred and Glenn Phillips’ blistering century powered New Zealand to a competitive 337 for eight despite early jolts from India’s pace attack. Mitchell (137) and Phillips (106) stitched together a 219-run partnership for the fourth wicket that turned the innings on its head. Calm and authoritative, Mitchell anchored the stand while Phillips provided the momentum, allowing New Zealand to shift gears after a cautious start. India were controlling the innings at one stage, having reduced the visitors to 58 for three but Mitchell and Phillips made it a contest.Story continues below this ad Left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh, brought in for Prasidh Krishna, made an immediate impact by removing Henry Nicholls (0) with a beauty in the opening over. Coming closer to the off-stump, Arshdeep (3/63) shaped the ball away to perfection as Nicholls, caught in two minds, withdrew his bat late and saw the delivery take the inside edge and crash into the leg-stump. Arshdeep and fellow seamer Harshit Rana (3/84) hit the deck hard and extracted just enough movement to keep the New Zealand batters under check early on.
Virat Kohli’s ton in vain as New Zealand win first ODI bilateral series in India
