Hosts India crashed to another disappointing loss in Indore as they went down by 41 runs in the series decider to lose the series 1-2 to spirited New Zealand. India were good in patches but failed to read the big moments and deserved to lose as they made too many errors in the match. From not getting wickets in powerplay, to players failing to capitalise on starts barring Virat Kohli, the list is endless. Here, we will decipher three reasons for India’s crushing loss in the third and final ODI in Indore.
Inability to take wickets in middle overs and stopping Daryl Mitchell-Glenn Phillips stand hurts India
India won the toss and decided to bowl and got off to a perfect start removing both openers Devon Conway and Henry Nicholls in the first two overs of the match with the score reading 5/2 at one stage. New Zealand did a little bit of recovery through Will Young and Daryl Mitchell putting on 53 for the third wicket before Young fell for 30 to leave New Zealand at 58/3 and it would be fair to say that India were slightly ahead in the game. But what followed stunned the Indians.
The duo of Daryl Mitchell and Glenn Phillips stunned India with a batting masterclass putting on a huge stand. Mitchell loves playing India and he loves playing cricket. Phillips complimented him well by getting themselves in and then pummelling India to the dust. India seemed to have no ideas how to stop this duo as they aced the middle overs as India went wicketless from say the 13th over till beyond 40 overs. It is at the 40-over phase is where the middle overs end.
Mitchell scored another ton while Phillips also scored a ton as the duo put on 219 for the 4th wicket to rattle India and take the game away from the hosts. The spinners were ineffective and bowled loose balls and bowled occasional no balls which New Zealand made them pay. They came with a plan and executed it while India had little or no plans to tackle the Kiwis. This is a matter of grave concern not getting wickets in the middle phase of the innings. In the past, Bumrah used to give timely breakthroughs, but him being rested means the others had too step up and they didn’t.
So, this is an area India has to work on taking wickets in the middle phase of the innings as if that is not done, the death overs will go for plenty as batters have the license to take the attack to the opposition. Have wicket-taking form bowlers in the XI is what India must aim whenever they play the next ODI.
Lack of support for Virat Kohli from the top and middle order hurt India
Chasing 338 for the win, India needed a perfect start and a perfect chase to stay ahead in the game from start to finish. Rohit Sharma and captain Shubman Gill got the team off to a brisk start and both got themselves small starts but just couldn’t carry on the good work. Rohit gave his wicket away for 11 while Shubman Gill got to 23 and was clean bowled by Kyle Jamieson.
All eyes were on Virat Kohli to deliver and deliver he did as he looked less troubled out there in the middle. It looked like a lone ranger for major parts as Kohli just didn’t get the required support from the middle order. Shreyas Iyer the vice-captain of the team ought to take more responsibility but fell for 3 off 10 balls to a horrendous shot. KL Rahul India’s saviour in the last two matches missed out failing for 1. Ravindra Jadeja looked as less fluent as ever managing just 12 runs without a boundary hit.
Yes, Nitish Kumar Reddy supported him by getting a fine half-century and added crucial runs as they put on 88 runs between them before he fell for 53. Thereafter, Harshit Rana joined Kohli as Kohli was in the zone hitting boundaries. Rana got himself going and put on 99 for the 7th wicket with Rana scoring a useful 52 runs his maiden ODI half-century. Both Nitish and Rana fought hard and gave good support to Kohli but the bridge was too far for the Indians as they were 71/4 and 178/6 and out of the game.
Kohli single-handedly took India as close as possible with the help of these two players but the others failed when it mattered. For how long will Kohli carry the burden of this Indian team? He has done it for 15 years and is expected to do it even at the fag end of his career. It is high time someone like Shubman Gill the captain, Shreyas Iyer step up to the plate and perform to take the pressure away from Kohli and Rohit for that matter. KL Rahul missed out but maybe law of averages got to him. This is an issue India must address soon.
Ravindra Jadeja’s dismal performance as an all-rounder creates headaches for India
This is the curious case of Ravindra Jadeja where he has underperformed for three consecutive ODIs. He was average against South Africa and here way way below average against New Zealand. Yes, Kuldeep Yadav was far from his best either but he had a stellar series against South Africa at home. Jadeja has been underperforming not only with the ball but with bat in hand and it meant that India were loosing too many wickets in the end.
With ball in hand, Jadeja has gone wicketless in this series picking up 0 wickets in 3 matches which is a matter of huge concern. His economy rate has also been on the higher side. So, he has failed to take wickets in the middle and more importantly not given control for the team. He also did not complete his quota of overs in all the matches. To put things in perspective against South Africa too, he picked up one wicket in three matches. His fielding is great but sometimes have dropped catches, but batting and bowling has been below par.
With bat in hand in this particular series, he has looked less fluent and batted slowly failing to up the ante. Against South Africa he made decent contributions with the bat in hand which helped India finish well. But in this series he was far from being in control of proceedings. Ravindra Jadeja was not selected in Australia with Axar Patel selected over him there. But with T20 World Cup on the horizon, Axar was given a breather and Jadeja getting the nod in home bilateral ODIs. But he has largely underperformed.
With the focus for all shifting to ODIs after the T20 World Cup and IPL, there should be no surprise if Ravindra Jadeja is dropped and Axar Patel is back in the side in place of him. Everyone talks about Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma’s future with regards to ODI World Cup 2027, but it is actually Jadeja’s form and position which is under heavy scrutiny now and who knows after IPL, Jadeja could be just a red ball player in Test cricket.
What Lies Ahead
The ODIs are done and dusted and we move to the T20Is where a 5-match series will take place between India and New Zealand. The first match is set to take place in Nagpur on 21st January, 2026 from 7 PM onwards IST on Wednesday. India will be led by Suryakumar Yadav while New Zealand will be led by Mitchell Santner. Last chance for both teams to fine tune their skills and XIs ahead of the big event.
Let’s see how this series unfolds and whether India can bounce back from ODI series loss and beat the Kiwis in the shortest format of the game.
Also Read:Â IND vs NZ: New Zealand Wins Maiden Series In India With Impressive 41-Run Win