Historic Double! After Test Series Win, NZ Make History in ODIs over India

India's poor run at home continued as the Men in Blue lost the three-match ODI series against New Zealand after losing the third match by 41 runs at the Holkar Stadium in Indore on Sunday.

After a thrilling opener, where India ended up winning in Vadodara, thanks to Virat Kohli's 93-run knock, the Kiwis made a comeback in the second match in Rajkot with a match-winning batting performance from Daryl Mitchell, who played an unbeaten 131-run knock, helping the team level the series 1-1. However, the defeat in the third ODI created an unwanted record at home for the Men in Blue.

First ODI Series Win for NZ in India

New Zealand's victory in the decider sealed their maiden ODI series win on Indian soil. Despite starting the match strongly with the ball in the first innings, the Men in Blue ended up conceding 337 runs. The target looked chasable considering the surface, which was pretty favourable to the batters. However, India's top order failed miserably, and no other batter could help Virat Kohli chase the target in the IND vs NZ 3rd ODI. Despite seeing the wickets fall at the other end, Kohli showed why he is still regarded as one of the best ODI batsmen in the world.

With this win, New Zealand cricket team record in India has further improved. NZ's incredible run against India in India started back in 2024 when they won their first-ever Test series in India. They didn't just win the series; they whitewashed the Indian side, and that too when Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Ravichandran Ashwin were still playing the longest format of the game.

They have now won their first-ever ODI series as well. Both these unwanted records have come under the coaching of Gautam Gambhir, which has again raised a lot of questions about his tenure. It's also worth noting that the New Zealand side had come into the series with an inexperienced bowling attack, which lacked the likes of Mitchell Santner, Matt Henry, Jacob Duffy, and William O'Rourke.

On the other hand, India were without only two of their senior players for the IND vs NZ ODI series - Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah, who will be back in the upcoming five-match T20I series against the Kiwis.

Virat Kohli's Hundred Goes in Vain

Kohli's century might've come in the losing cause, but he still ended up making multiple records. The right-handed batter smashed his seventh century against New Zealand, beating former Australian captain Ricky Ponting, who had six centuries to his name against the Blackcaps.

This was also Kohli's 10th century against the Kiwis across formats, beating former South African great Jacques Kallis (9). Kohli also went past the God of cricket, Sachin Tendulkar's record of scoring a century at most venues. He now has scored centuries at 35 venues, while Tendulkar had scored at 34 venues.