INDvsNZ : Kohli's century in vain; New Zealand defeats India by 41 runs

The New Zealand cricket team has made history on Indian soil. In the third and final ODI match held at Holkar Stadium in Indore, New Zealand defeated India by 41 runs to win the 3-match series 2-1. This is the first time New Zealand has won an ODI series in India, which has come as a big shock to Indian cricket fans.

India won the toss and forced New Zealand to bat first. Initially, Indian bowlers performed well, quickly dismissing two New Zealand batsmen. However, a half-century partnership for the third wicket followed. India did break this pair, but then the duo of Daryl Mitchell and Glenn Phillips formed a record double-century partnership for the fourth wicket, completely changing the course of the match.

Darrell Mitchell played a composed yet aggressive innings scoring 137 runs, while Glenn Phillips crafted a century with 106 runs. Due to the strong batting of these two, New Zealand built a solid mountain of 337 runs for the loss of 8 wickets in 50 overs. For India, Harshit Rana and Arshdeep Singh took 3 wickets each.

Chasing the target of 338 runs, there were expectations of a big partnership from Indian openers Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill. However, Rohit was dismissed for 11 runs, while Shubman Gill was out for 23 runs. Subsequently, vice-captain Shreyas Iyer (3) and KL Rahul (1) returned cheaply, leaving India at 71 for 4.

Virat Kohli and Nitish Kumar Reddy steadied India, which was in trouble. The two shared a crucial partnership of 88 runs for the fifth wicket. Nitish scored 53 runs to hit his maiden ODI half-century. However, the partnership broke as soon as Nitish got out. Ravindra Jadeja once again failed, getting out for 12 runs.

After this, Harshit Rana gave good support to Virat Kohli. The two played aggressively for the sixth wicket, keeping India's hopes of victory alive. Virat scored his 54th ODI century in his career, while Harshit Rana played a brilliant innings of 52 runs off 43 balls. However, as soon as Harshit got out, New Zealand strengthened its grip on the match.

Mohammad Siraj, who came after Harshit, was out on the very first ball. Virat Kohli was trying for victory with Kuldeep Yadav, but in an attempt to hit a big shot, Virat was caught out. Virat played a gritty innings of 124 runs, but it proved insufficient. Finally, India's innings ended at 296 runs in 46 overs, and New Zealand celebrated a historic victory by winning the match and the series.