Rohit, Bumrah to the fore, India win seventh series under Kohli

Jasprit Bumrah enhanced his reputation as a death bowler by bowling India to victory in the last over in a nail biting encounter at Kanpur to clinch the three-match ODI series 2-1.

New Delhi: Jasprit Bumrah enhanced his reputation as a death bowler by bowling India to victory in the last over in a nail biting encounter at Kanpur to clinch the three-match ODI series 2-1.

New Zealand were cursing to victory, needing only 30 runs in the last three overs with 5 wickets in the bank when Bumrah turned the match into India’s favour by bowling a superb 48^th ovee that resulted in just 5 runs and also brought India the prized wicket of Tom Latham (65) through a run out.

Bumrah’s fast bowling partner Bhuvenshwar Kumar, who had an unseal off day, delivered when it mannered and gave away only 10 runs in the penultimate over.

Bumrah then held his nerve to bowl an even better last over and ensure a six-run victory for India.

For New Zealand, Colin Munro made 75 while Tom Latham (65) and skipper Kane Williamson (64) also struck fifties.

Credit must go to the Indian spinners – Yuzvendra Chahal in particular for India in the match during the middle overs when New Zealand were taking giant steps towards the target.

Chahal got New Zealand’s highest scorer Colin Munro (73) with a beautiful leg spinner to end a threatening 109-run partnership. The leggie then gave a body blow to the visitors by getting the prized scalp of Kane Williamson (64).

Munro and Williamosn’s fall stopped the run flow and the required run rate per over went beyond eight, leaving the heroes of Mumbai Ross Taylor and Latham a lot to do.

They batted well, completing a 79-run partnership off 69 balls with their team needing 91 off the last 10 overs.

Latham carried on and played flawless to take his team on the brink of victory alongside Henry Nicholls before nerves got the better of them during the business end of the innings.

Earlier, Sharma and Kohli, who became the first ever pairing to complete four double hundred partnerships in ODIs, were simply unstoppable against a New Zealand bowling attack that looked pretty ordinary on the day.

Their spectacular showing also helped India comfortably beat the previous highest score at Green Park, 303 for five that South Africa made against them two years ago.

The destructive duo was in complete control ever since Shikhar Dhawan (14) departed in the seventh over and ended up with a record breaking 230-run stand off 211 balls.

While Kohli had already hit a fine hundred in the series opener, Sharma rose to the occasion after failing in the first two games after New Zealand put the home team in.

The last time he played an ODI here, he made 150, and two years on, the stylish-right hander from Mumbai gave the packed crowd an evening to remember for a long time.

There are not many prettier sights in cricket than seeing Sharma bat in full flow. And he did look in fine form right from the time he slashed a gentle loosener off Tim Southee over point in the first over of the match.

The Kanpur pitch, usually slow and low, played well with the ball coming on to the bat nicely. The signs were ominous for the opposition when Sharma easily picked pacer Adam Milne for a huge six over midwicket.

He gave the same treatment to left-arm spinner Santner in his first over, collecting two boundaries with a cut and sweep before getting to his 50 off 52 balls.

Kohli, on his part, began with two crisp boundaries off Southee, one through the covers and the next one a whip over midwicket.

Without taking much risk, the star pair managed to get an odd boundary in the middle overs and by the time Sharma got to his 15th ODI hundred in 33rd over, India were cruising at 183 for one.

Sharma was finding the fence more frequently than Kohli as he hammered 18 fours to go with two maximums. The two batsmen changed gears in the 36th over and the bowler at the receiving end this time was pacer Trent Boult, who leaked 17 runs in that over including four fours.

The next over saw them picking three fours off Grandhomme with the last one getting Kohli past the 9000-run mark in ODIs, making him the sixth Indian to do so and fastest to get there overall.

After Sharma fell to a tired shot in the 42nd over, Kohli breezed to his 32nd hundred and his second in the series, with a single off Santner.