INDORE: New Zealand batters Daryl Mitchell and Glenn Phillips scored centuries in a superb partnership to lay the foundation for a 41-run victory over India in the third one-day international (ODI) match in Indore on Sunday, which sealed a 2-1 comeback series victory for the touring team.
A target of 337 left the hosts facing an uphill task and they ran out of steam despite veteran Virat Kohli’s knock of 124.
India started shaky and lost wickets at frequent intervals before Kohli gave hope to the home fans by combining with Nitish Kumar Reddy (53) in an 88-run partnership.
Kristian Clarke removed Reddy to thwart India’s momentum and the required run rate quickly increased, but Kohli found another capable partner in Harshit Rana as the two stepped on the accelerator.
Kohli reached a record 54th ODI century and Rana hit a whirlwind 52 from 43 balls, before a decisive over from Zak Foulkes broke India’s resistance.
Foulkes tempted Rana with a full toss which was caught by Henry Nicholls at long-off, before an edge from Mohammed Siraj was passed to wicketkeeper Mitchell Hay off the next delivery.
The final blow came two overs later, when Kohli missed a shot and sent the ball into Mitchell’s hands at long-on.
“After the first match, which came here 1-1, the way we played was disappointing. Many areas need improvement. Virat and Harshit’s batting was positive,” Indian captain Shubman Gill said.
New Zealand were in trouble at 58-3 after being put into bat on a Holkar Stadium wicket known for producing high-scoring matches.
However, Mitchell took the attack on the hosts’ bowlers and was well supported by Phillips who added 219 off 188 balls.
Mitchell, who made 84 in the first ODI and 131 in the second, hit 15 fours and three sixes to post a career-high ODI score of 137 and record his fourth century for India.
“It’s really nice to contribute and win here. The way we’ve built partnerships with (Will) Young and GP (Phillips),” said Mitchell, who was named Player of the Series.
“It’s always nice to have time with your friends. I just try to concentrate on being there, watching the ball, repeating and making good decisions. GP is a friend, it’s great to see him get a 100.”
The teams will then meet in a five-match Twenty20 international series from January 21-31, a key part of their preparations for the T20 World Cup which begins on February 7 and will be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka.
DASHBOARD
NEW ZEALAND:
D. Conway v Sharma b Rana 5
H. Nicholls b Singh 0
W. Young v Jadeja b Rana 30
D. Mitchell v Yadav b Siraj 137
G. Phillips v Rahul b Singh 106
Mr. Bracewell not absent 28
Mr. Hay lbw b Yadav 2
Z. Foulkes v Yadav b Singh 10
K. Clarke and Rana 11
ADDITIONAL (B-, NB-2, W-1) 8
TOTAL (for eight wickets, 50 overs) 337
WICKETS FALLS: 1-5 (Nicholls), 2-5 (Conway), 3-58 (Young), 4-277 (Phillips), 5-283 (Mitchell), 6-286 (Hay), 7-304 (Foulkes), 8-327 (Clarke)
DID NOT DEFEAT: K. Jamieson, J. Lennox
BOWLING: Singh 10-1-63-3, Rana 10-0-84-3 (1w), Siraj 10-0-43-1, Reddy 8-0-53-0, Yadav 6-0-48-1 (1nb), Jadeja 6-0-41-0 (1nb)
INDIA:
R. Sharma v Clarke b Foulkes 11
S. Gill b Jamieson 23
V. Kohli v Mitchell b Clarke 124
S.Iyer v Foulkes b Clarke 3
KL Rahul c Phillips b Lennox 1
NK Reddy v Young b Clarke 53
R. Jadeja v Young b Lennox 12
H. Rana v Nicholls b Foulkes 52
M. Siraj v Hay b Foulkes 0
K. Yadav runs out (Phillips) 5
A. Singh not absent 4
ADDITIONAL (LB-1, NB-1 W-6) 8
TOTAL (all out, 46 overs) 296
FALL OF Wickets: 1-28 (Sharma), 2-45 (Gill), 3-68 (Iyer), 4-71 (Rahul), 5-159 (Reddy), 6-178 (Jadeja), 7-277 (Rana), 8-277 (Siraj), 9-292 (Kohli)
BOWLING: Jamieson 9-0-58-1 (1w), Foulkes 9-0-77-3 (2w, 1nb), Clarke 9-0-54-3 (2w), Lennox 10-0-42-2, Mitchell 1-0-10-0 (1w), Phillips 8-0-54-0
RESULT: New Zealand won by 41 points.
Published in Dawn, January 19, 2026
