India vs New Zealand, 4th ODI highlights: Ross Taylor's 9th ton clinches 3-0 series win for Kiwis

New Zealand clinch seven-wicket win over India in the 4th ODI to take the series 3-0. Follow highlights of the match here: (Live scorecard | Text commentary | Match Report)

 

14.37 (IST): The series is now in Kiwis' pocket. The Indians have been outplayed in every match so far and will have to return to the drawing board to iron out their flaws. The series is still not over as they have the final ODI and the Test series to go. A win in the final ODI to salvage some pride and go into the two-match Test series with momentum by their side is what MS Dhoni & Co. will strive in the next two days for. As for the upbeat Kiwis, a clean record in the ODI series will add a spring in their step ahead of the Test series. Here's what Ross Taylor pulled off today to enable his side take an unassailable 3-0 lead in the series.

 

14.35 (IST): Man of the match Ross Taylor: Have been working hard on my game. Every member in the team is striving to perform well. Glad I could contribute in team's victory.

 

14.34 (IST): Brendon McCullum on Kyle Mills: Kyle Mills is outstanding. The wicket suited him.

 

14.32 (IST): Brendon McCullum on series win: Feels outstanding. Tough conditions tonight. Ross Taylor's partnership with Kane was the backbone of our innings. We'll enjoy the break. Wins against No.1 team in the world don't happen too often.

14.30 (IST): MS Dhoni on approach for rest of ODI series: We will look to take it one game at a time.

14.29 (IST): MS Dhoni on India's batting: Batting is our strength but we haven't got going. Most of our batsmen got starts but failed to convert them into big scores.

14.27 (IST): MS Dhoni on India's bowling: Frankly, it was a disappointing performance. It was a wicket where you needed to be disciplined and our fast bowlers consistently bowled short and wide, allowing them to score easily. Spinners bowled well in the middle but the fast bowlers gave too many runs away.

14.25 (IST): MS Dhoni at the presentation ceremony: We struggled in this game but I think their bowlers did very well. They bowled in the right areas and forced our batsmen to play shots.

13.59 (IST): It's all over! Brendon McCullum finishes the game with a six. The Kiwis win by seven wickets and clinch the series 3-0. Despite two consecutive early wickets, the total was not good enough for the Indians to defend. Ross Taylor (112 not out) and Kane Williamson (60) got their side out of trouble and built the platform for a win by adding 130 runs for the third wicket. After Williamson's departure, skipper McCullum walked in and added an undefeated stand of 92 runs for the fourth wicket to guide their side home. As far as India were concerned, they would have had some hopes after drying up the run flow in the middle overs but the troika of Williamson, Taylor and McCullum paced their respective innings in a sensational manner to earn their win. This loss also takes away the No.1 ODI ranking from MS Dhoni & Co.

13.52 (IST): New Zealand reach 274/3 in 48 overs, need 5 runs to win from 12 balls.

13.37 (IST): Just six runs come from the next over but the hosts are still favourites, needing 33 to win from 36 balls. NZ 246/3 in 44 overs.

13.35 (IST): 100 for Taylor! His 9th in ODIs. It has come off 110 balls. NZ 240/3 in 43 overs, need 39 to win from 42 balls.

13.28 (IST): Another good over in the making from Bhuvneshwar till McCullum stepped down and slammed a six on the off-side. NZ 226/3 in 42 overs, need 53 to win from 48 balls.

13.25 (IST): New Zealand reach 219/3 in 41 overs, need 60 to win from 54 balls.

13.14 (IST): Taylor makes up for the silent previous over by slamming two boundaries in the next NZ 208/3 in 39 overs, need 71 from 66 balls.

13.12 (IST): Ashwin's 10-over spell comes to an end with just 1 run in his last over. He finishes with 0/41. NZ 198/3 in 38 overs, need 81 from 72 balls.

13.04 (IST): This game is heading for a close finish as the asking rate is just about run-a-ball. This is perhaps the biggest test for the Indian bowlers. NZ 195/3 in 36.3 overs, need 84 to win from 81 balls.

12.58 (IST): OUT! Williamson is gone! The batsmen opted for a quick single but Jadeja was very quick in his reaction. He collected the ball on his follow through and forced a direct throw at the non-striker's end to break the massive partnership. Can India sneak a return from here? NZ 188/3 in 34.2 overs.

 

12.44 (IST): The Kiwis are cruising here, courtesy Williamson and Taylor. NZ 173/2 in 32 overs, need 106 runs to win from 18 overs.

12.40 (IST): Kane Williamson brings up 10th ODI fifty. It has come in 67 balls. He and Taylor have done exceedingly well to keep the hosts in the chase. NZ 163/2 in 29.4 overs.

12.39 (IST): The 100-run partnership between Williamson and Taylor comes up. They are now starting to shift gears. NZ 158/2 in 29 overs.

12.35 (IST): Fifty for Taylor! His 27th in ODIs. It has taken 62 balls. NZ 145/2 in 27.4 overs.

12.26 (IST): Shot! Taylor times the ball to perfection to square cut a delivery from Aaron to the fence. NZ 133/2 in 26.3 overs.

12.23 (IST): Rayudu continues with his spin bowling and gives just four runs away. NZ 127/2 in 26 overs.

12.22(IST): At the half way stage, NZ have managed 123/2. After two wickets that pegged them back, Williamson and Taylor have ticked along well. They now need 156 runs to win from 150 deliveries.

12.21 (IST): Varun Aaron bowls a tidy over on comeback. Four runs from it. NZ 123/2 in 25 overs.

12.11 (IST): Ambati Rayudu comes into the attack.

12.09 (IST): SIX! Kane Williamson launches a delivery from Bhuvneshwar Kumar to the long on fence for a six. NZ 111/2 in 22.3 overs.

12.07 (IST): Binny is getting the ball to rise up at a tricky pace. If he can keep that going, Dhoni would love to select him again and again. He is the Dhoni kind of a bowler who can strangle the opposition for runs in the middle overs.

12.04 (IST): Debutant Stuart Binny comes into the attack.

11.57 (IST): After a good start, the Kiwis have reached 95/2 in 20 overs. Their scoring rate has gone down but with Kane Williamson (17) and Ross Taylor (24) in the middle, the visitors still have a long way to go to be able to defend their total of 278. The Kiwis need 184 runs to win off the remaining 180 balls.

11.50 (IST): An array of tidy overs from India here. Ashwin and Jadeja have conceded 20 runs in eight overs between them (10 runs in four overs each). NZ 85/2 in 18 overs.

 

11.40 (IST): Great start by both Ashwin and Jadeja. From 65/2 in 10 overs, the hosts have crawled to 73/2 in 14 overs. Jadeja has given just two runs in two overs.

11.35 (IST): Spin from both ends now, Ashwin comes in. Just four runs from the over, NZ 69/2 in 12 overs.

11.31 (IST): The Kiwis reach 65/2 in 10 overs and MS Dhoni has already turned to spin. Ravindra Jadeja into the attack. He starts with a maiden over.

 

11.24 (IST): During the Indian innings, MS Dhoni scored his 54th ODI fifty. That and more stats from the first essay here

11.21 (IST): Second wicket down! Mohammed Shami traps Guptill in front of the stumps. He falls for 35 off 27 balls. NZ 58/2 in 8.1 overs.

11.17 (IST): Kane Williamson comes into bat.

11.16 (IST): Varun Aaron comes into the attack and strikes straightaway. Ryder has played the ball onto the stumps. NZ 54/1 in 7.2 overs.

11.06 (IST): Guptill is on a roll! He gets two back-to-back fours as the Kiwis have started on an exceptional note for their chase of 278. NZ 43/0 in 4.3 overs.

10.56 (IST): First single of the innings for the Kiwis. NZ 25/0 in 3.1 overs.

10.54 (IST): Seems like this NZ pair is only interested in scoring boundaries. The sixth came in the third over. NZ 24/0 in 3 overs.

10.52 (IST): Ryder scores the second boundary off Shami's over. NZ 20/0 in 2 overs.

10.51 (IST): The Kiwi batsmen are dealing in boundaries here. They've scored 16 and each run has come off boundaries. NZ 16/0 in 1.4 overs

10.49 (IST): Mohammed Shami begins with a peach-of-a-delivery, beating the outside edge of Ryder's bat. NZ 8/0 in 1.1 overs.

10.46 (IST): Contrasting efforts on the field marks the start of the Kiwi innings. First a diving save from Ambati Rayudu to save a certain boundary and the followed by poor effort from Varun Aaron in the deep to allow a boundary. NZ 4/0 in 0.3 overs.

10.36 (IST): Meanwhile in Mirpur, Sri Lanka have lost their first wicket on Day 2 of the 1st Test against Bangladesh after the hosts scored 232. Follow everything from that game here.

10.33 (IST): FACTOID: With a six off the final ball of the innings, MS Dhoni reached 7,999 ODI runs.

10.31 (IST): FACTOID: Rohit Sharma has slammed 9 sixes in the series so far, only two behind Sehwag's tally of 11 against New Zealand in 2008-09.

10.05 (IST): 17 runs off the final over! Ravindra Jadeja (62 not out) and MS Dhoni (79 not out) have taken India to 278/5 in 50 overs. What a comeback after struggling mid-way from the Indians. Exactly 100 runs come from the final 10 overs.

10.00 (IST): India have gone from 178/5 in 40 overs to 261/5 in 49 overs. How much will the final over fetch?

9.56 (IST): Jadeja gets another boundary to complete the over and take India past 250. The four also brought up the 100-run stand between him and Dhoni. India 253/5 in 48 overs.

9.53 (IST): Back-to-back 50s for Jadeja! His 8th in ODIs. It has come of 46 balls. India 247/5 in 47.3 overs.

9.40 (IST): Fifty for MS Dhoni! 54th in ODIs and 3rd in a row! He gets it off 58 balls. India 227/5 in 45.1 overs.

 

9.38 (IST): Ravindra Jadeja seems to have carried forward his form from the previous game. He moves into the 40s. India 215/5 in 44.2 overs.

9.27 (IST): This partnership is worth 51 now. It has come off 55 balls. What a vital partnership this is for the visitors. India 202/5 in 42.2 overs.

9.25 (IST): Jadeja is timing the ball brilliantly today. He gets a flat six over long on to bring up the 200 for India. India 200/5 in 42 overs.

9.21 (IST): Four! Dhoni wields his new willow. He pulls one  wide off mid on. India 189/5 in 41.1 overs.

9.19 (IST): SIX! Jadeja goes down on one knee and slog sweeps Williamson for a six. India 185/5 in 41 overs.

9.17 (IST): Dhoni has called for new bats. Brendon McCullum has taken the gamble by bringing Kane Williamson on. Expect some fireworks here.

 

9.15 (IST): 40 overs up! India have reached 178/5 with MS Dhoni (33 in 44 balls) and Ravindra Jadeja (15 in 23 balls) in the middle. How much more can India score?

 

9.08 (IST): Dhoni finishes the over with another boundary through covers but Southee's 10-over quota comes to an end with exceptional figures of 2 for 36. India 171/5 in 38 overs.

9.06 (IST): Welcome boundary for Jadeja. A short ball from Southee and Jadeja goes for a pull. The top-edge flies over the keeper to the fine leg fence.

8.57 (IST): Brendon McCullum brings back Tim Southee in the powerplay. Southee has been exceptional so far, conceding just 23 runs in his eight overs. India 154/5 in 35 overs.

8.49 (IST): Previous game hero Ravindra Jadeja walks out next.

8.47 (IST): Another wicket! The Ashwin experiment has come to a premature end. He walked out ahead of Stuart Binny and Ravindra Jadeja but is now gone for five off three. India 151/5 in 33.1 overs

 

8.44 (IST): OUT! Rohit is gone! He goes for 79, caught behind by Luke Ronchi off Williamson. India 142/4 in 32.3 overs.

8.39 (IST): SIX! Fourth of the innings for Rohit. He slams this one over extra cover. India 137/3 in 31.4 overs.

8.35 (IST): Double change as Tim Southee comes into the attack now. India 130/3 in 31 overs.

8.33 (IST): SIX! Kane Williamson comes on and MS Dhoni welcomes him with a big six over long on. India 127/3 in 30.1 overs.

8.32 (IST): India reach 121/3 in 30 overs. Rohit Sharma (68 off 88 balls) has been the only positive for the visitors so far as New Zealand have been exceptional in the field, giving almost nothing away easily.

8.28 (IST): Rohit has done well so far! He started slowly and took his time to settle down and get his eye in. Once he managed that, he hasn't let the chance go to waste as he brought up his 21st ODI fifty. MS Dhoni will hope that Rohit can stick around for long enough for these two to post a total worth defending.

8.26 (IST): Rohit opens the face of the bat and gets a boundary through extra cover off Nathan McCullum. He has moved on to 66. India 117/3 in 28.5 overs.

 

8.14 (IST): Rayudu is gone! Another batsman falls to a short delivery. Hamish Bennett returned to the attack and bowled a bouncer that was too quick for Rayudu who attempted a pull but a top-edge went straight to Luke Ronchi behind the stumps. Rayudu fell for 37, India 101/3 in 25.3 overs.

8.10 (IST):  Another six! Rayudu this time, as he steps out and slams one over deep mid-wicket. That brings up the 100, India 100/2 in 24.5 overs.

8.06 (IST): 50 for Rohit! 21st in ODIs! He gets to it with a glorious hit for a six over long off. India 88/2 in 23.3 overs.

7.59 (IST): The 50-run stand comes up! Rohit and Rayudu have added 50 runs for the fourth wicket, orchestrating India's slow but important rebuilding process. India 72/2 in 21.1 overs.

7.57 (IST): SIX! Ambati Rayudu dances down the track and hits Nathan McCullum over deep mid wicket for maximum. India 66/2 in 20.1 overs.

7.48 (IST): Rohit has slowly crawled into the 30s with a boundary over the slip cordon. Neesham bowled a length delivery and Rohit tried to pull the ball but a leading edge flew over the slips to the third man fence. India 56/2 in 17.4 overs.

7.45 (IST): Skipper Brendon McCullum has thrown the ball to brother Nathan in a bid to further strangulate Indian batsmen at the wicket. The spinner starts from round the wicket.

7:38 (IST): Change in bowling as New Zealand bring in their fourth seamer - James Neesham, who has replaced big-hitting Corey Anderson in the playing XI. FACTOID: Anderson has been highest wicket-taker in the series with 10 scalps.

7.33 (IST): Rayudu gets two boundaries off Hamish Bennett to take India to 47/2 in 14 overs.

 

7.28 (IST): India are struggling to get a move on here. New Zealand have been excellent in the field so far. Very little given away to the India batsmen. India 39/2 in 13 overs.

7.22 (IST): SIX! Rohit Sharma gets his second of the game. Sublime timing from him. He spots the short ball early and pulls it to the deep square-leg fence. India 32/2 in 11.2 overs.

7.14 (IST): Rayudu gets a boundary! Much-needed for India. It's the first four for India. He flicks Bennett in front of square leg. India 27/2 in 9.3 overs.

7.12 (IST): First bowling change! Hamish Bennett comes into the attack.

7.07 (IST): Another short ball, another Indian wicket! Rahane this time! He tries to pull Kyle Mills but can't clear Southee at long leg. India 22/2 in 8.2 overs.

7.04 (IST): Dropped! Ross Taylor drops a straightforward chance at slips! Rohit Sharma survives. IND 20/1 in 7.2 overs.

7.00 (IST): SIX! Rohit Sharma steps out and hits one high in the air. He does enough for the ball to sail over the ropes at long on. IND 19/1 in 6.4 overs.

6.54 (IST): Its a slow and shaky start for India in the fourth ODI. India manage just 11 runs in the first six overs.

6.47 (IST): Ajinkya Rahane walks out at No. 3.

6.46 (IST): What a start for the Kiwis! Virat Kohli is gone! He pulls a short delivery by the top-edge flies high in the air and Jimmy Neesham takes a simple catch at mid-wicket. IND 5/1 in 3.2 overs.

6.43 (IST): In the air! Sharma tries to play the flick and was a bit early on it. The ball was in the air and just over the mid-on fielder for a single. India 4/0 in 3.1 overs.

6.41 (IST): Rohit Sharma is also off the mark now! He was late to attempt a forward push and and the inside edge went towards square leg.

6.38 (IST): First run for India comes off Kohli's bat. Just one run from the over. IND 1/0 in 2 overs.

6.35 (IST): Tim Southee will start from the other end. There seems to be a hint of away swing for both the bowlers. Interesting to see how Kohli approaches this game.

6.34 (IST): Kyle Mills starts off with a maiden over to Rohit Sharma. IND 0/0 in 1 over.

6.30 (IST): Virat Kohli walks out with Rohit Sharma as his opening partner. Kyle Mills has the ball in his hand.

6.16 (IST): Indian line-up: Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli, Ambati Rayudu, Stuart Binny, MS Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Varun Aaron.

 

6.09 (IST): For the hosts, Jimmy Neesham and Kyle Mills come in, in place of Corey Anderson and Mitchell McClenaghan.

6.08 (IST): MS Dhoni has won his fourth toss in as many games and has elected to bat first. Stuart Binny gets his ODI debut while Ambati Rayudu will replace Shikhar Dhawan.

6.06 (IST): India begin the game with their backs against the wall. An outstanding effort from Ravindra Jadeja in the final over of the third ODI helped the visitors stay alive in the tournament but need to win today to keep that going. They cannot win the series but would be more than happy to return home with the series 2-2. For that, they need to get off the mark in the fourth ODI today.

 

 

Preview

India are confident they can win their two remaining one-day internationals in New Zealand to salvage a draw from a series they were expected to dominate. Although a series win is out of reach for India, who trail 0-2. New Zealand won the first two matches while the third ended in a tie. New Zealand need to win one more to claim the series victory.

India's bowling in favourable New Zealand conditions has been a big let-down for the team, but the fighting spirit and resilience of Indian batsmen took the first two ODIs close and tied the third to keep the series alive.

The openers have squandered their starts, particularly Rohit Sharma in the last two ODIs at Hamilton and Auckland. Ajinkya Rahane is still trying to find his feet at number four position, while Suresh Raina's compulsive pulling -- a shot he is not very good at -- is proving to be his downfall. Virat Kohli and Mahendra Singh Dhoni are the only ones among runs, but their ability to chase down targets is hit by the batting line-up's inconsistency.

Recap of third ODI

New Zealand were on the verge of sealing an historic series win over the world champions, after making 314 and then removing the cream of India's batting talent to have the tourists at 184-6 with less than 15 overs remaining. But Jadeja, who finished unbeaten on 66, and Ravi Ashwin who posted a career-best 65, ensured India stayed in the game.

Between them they put on 85 runs in 55 balls for the seventh wicket before Ashwin fell to a spectacular catch by New Zealand century-maker Martin Guptill, leaving Jadeja to get India to the end as the tail-end batsmen fell around him. (Read full match report here)

Dhoni created history by becoming the first ODI captain to have participated in four tied matches. The first one was in the 2011 ICC World Cup against England in Bangalore. His second was also against England at Lord's on September 11, 2011. The third occasion was against Sri Lanka in Adelaide in February 2012. Richie Richardson (West Indies), Steve Waugh (Australia) and Shaun Pollock (South Africa) were involved in three ties each. (Click here for more stats)

We've just not been at the best of our game: Ashwin

Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin admitted that India have been below par in the ODIs against New Zealand and they want to avoid another series defeat. "We've just not been at the best of our game. That's the best point we can take forward, in terms of saying, we've not really played our best game yet," Ashwin said.

Ashwin said the dramatic tie in the third match in Auckland showed the tide is turning for the tourists, who have slipped to number two in the rankings. "We were quite disappointed that we didn't shut the game down. We would have loved to win the series, but we kept it open and we can tie it down now," Ashwin said. (Read more here - India confident of squaring New Zealand series)

Ashwin contributed with the bat in Auckland and the Indian all-rounder said he is very comfortable with his cricket right now and is in best frame of mind ahead of the fourth ODI against New Zealand on Tuesday. "It was a good opportunity presented to me in terms of batting higher up the order. You do not often get so many overs to bat in the current Indian line-up. They always do the job of getting the runs. I got enough overs that day and I thought to just bat the way I bat in a Test match and look for runs all the time. It helped me out in the end," said Ashwin. (Read more- All-rounder Ashwin says he is in great mental shape with bat and ball)

Chasing big totals putting pressure on top order: Gavaskar

Former India skipper Sunil Gavaskar says Indian top order is under tremendous pressure while chasing huge totals as their bowlers continue to fail on numerous occasions. "When your bowlers are already giving 250-plus runs on more occasions, you are putting pressure on your batsmen to chase the big targets down each time. It is much better for the batsmen to bat without the pressure of an asking rate. They might actually get you 350 or more which will at least give your bowlers extra cushion of runs. It is something that India need to look at in the next couple of games if they have to stay alive in the series," Gavaskar said. (Watch here)