Shooting Cooper Connolly: Australia’s 22-year-old star
New Zealand’s win marked their first bilateral ODI series win in India since 1988, which they achieved at the eighth attempt. Asked to bat first, New Zealand piled up an impressive 337 for eight. Daryl Mitchell continued his golden run in the series with a second consecutive hundred as he blasted 137 off 131 balls with 15 fours and a six. Glenn Phillips provided further impetus with an impressive 106 off 88 deliveries, hitting nine fours and three sixes. Captain Michael Bracewell added late impetus with an unbeaten 28 off 18 balls with four boundaries. Indian bowlers saw some success despite the onslaught, with Arshdeep Singh returning figures of 3 for 63 and Harshit Rana taking 3 for 84. In response, India’s chase revolved around Virat Kohli, who stood firm as wickets fell around him. Kohli hit a resolute 124 off 108 balls, hitting 10 fours and three sixes. He found valuable support from Harshit Rana, whose first ODI fifty came in the form of a brisk 52 off 43 balls as the pair stitched together a 99-run stand that briefly kept India in the hunt. Nitish Kumar Reddy also chipped in with 53 off 57 balls, including two fours and two sixes, but the target proved too steep. India were bowled out for 296 in 46 overs. For New Zealand, Kristian Clarke led the bowling with figures of 3 for 54 while Zakary Foulkes took 3 for 77. Jayden Lennox impressed with a neat spell of 2 for 42 to seal a breakthrough night for the visitors in Indore.