On a historic Sunday at the Holkar Stadium, New Zealand achieved what no Black Caps side before them had managed: a bilateral ODI series victory on Indian soil. Lead by a monumental 219-run partnership between Daryl Mitchell and Glenn Phillips, the visitors posted a daunting 337 before their bowlers withstood a majestic Virat Kohli century to clinch the series decider by 41 runs.
The 2-1 series victory marks a watershed moment for New Zealand cricket, coming just a year after their first-ever Test series win in India.
After being put in to bat, New Zealand’s innings began in crisis as Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana reduced the visitors to a precarious 5/2, then 58/3. However, Daryl Mitchell, India’s "chief tormentor," found a lethal ally in Glenn Phillips.
The duo's 219-run fourth-wicket stand was a masterclass in calculated aggression. Mitchell (137 off 131 balls) anchored the innings with his second consecutive century, while Phillips (106 off 88 balls) provided the explosive momentum. The turning point came against India's spin twins, Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja, who were plundered for 89 runs in just 12 combined overs.
Chasing 338, India’s top order crumbled. Captain Shubman Gill fell to Kyle Jamieson’s "in-ducker," exposing a familiar technical gap, while Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, and Shreyas Iyer failed to cross single digits.
At 71/4, Virat Kohli (124 off 108 balls) launched a solitary counter-attack
Phase 1: Energised aggression, hitting 40 runs off his first 24 balls.
Phase 2: Composed rebuilding alongside Nitish Kumar Reddy (53).
Phase 3: Explosive hitting with Harshit Rana (52), adding 99 runs in just 69 balls.
Despite bringing the equation down to 46 from 27 balls, Kohli eventually fell as the ninth wicket, and with him, India's hopes of a miracle.
The game underscored a big difference amogst the spinners. New Zealand’s duo of Jayden Lennox and Glenn Phillips outshone the experienced Indian pair. While Kuldeep and Jadeja struggled for grip on the flat Holkar surface, Lennox varied his pace brilliantly to stifle the Indian middle order.
For India, the pattern of top-order collapses has reignited the debate over the team's transition. While Gill was expected to be the heir apparent, his current technical struggles against the moving ball contrast sharply with Kohli’s renewed dominance, leaving selectors with difficult questions ahead of the T20 season.
