New Zealand defeated India by 41 runs 3rd ODI, winning maiden series in India 2-1.
India veterans Ajinkya Rahane and Zaheer Khan have pointed out how Shubman Gill’s captaincy possibly cost India the third ODI against New Zealand, which was played in Indore on Sunday, January 18. Rahane pointed out how Gill misused his two spinners, Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja, allowing Kiwi batters to dominate.
Daryl Mitchell (137) and Glenn Phillips (106) scored stunning centuries as New Zealand racked up a huge 338 against India in the third One-Day International in Indore on Sunday.
Despite grabbing two wickets in the first two overs, India failed to capitalize on the early momentum, as Mitchell and Phillips forged a 219-run partnership that lasted nearly 30 overs.
Ajinkya Rahane criticized Shubman Gill's captaincy, claiming that he had made a mistake in how he used his bowlers. In an unusual turn of events, India's spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja only bowled six overs each, while all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy bowled eight overs in the middle without taking a wicket.
"Personally, I think Shubman missed a trick by bowling only three overs of Kuldeep in the middle overs, and then he was waiting till the 37th-38th over. Even Jadeja being held back till the 30th over, those are the guys who can get you the wickets. That is where India went slightly wrong," Rahane said on Cricbuzz.
On the other hand, Zaheer Khan added to Rahane’s analysis and said that Jadeja should’ve been brought into the attack much earlier.
"More than Kuldeep, it is Ravindra Jadeja's inclusion in the bowling attack very late that was the problem. Maybe the thought was to give Nitish Reddy a bit more game time and overs under his belt in a match situation, but because of that, you get a bit hamstrung with your options," Zaheer added.
Chasing New Zealand's 337 runs, India's batters faltered as only Virat Kohli, with 124, and fifties by Nitish Reddy and Harshit Rana managed to take India to 296 runs. India lost the game by 41 runs, and New Zealand registered their maiden ODI series win in India.