- By Himanshu Badola
- Sun, 18 Jan 2026 11:58 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
India vs New Zealand 3rd ODI: Indian captain Shubman Gill wasn't pleased with the team's performance in the third and final ODI match against New Zealand at the Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore on Sunday. New Zealand defeated the Men in Blue by 41 runs to clinch their first-ever ODI series on Indian soil as Virat Kohli's memorable effort went in vain.
Chasing 338, India kept losing wickets consistently, and even Kohli's brilliance wasn't enough to bail the hosts out of a tricky position. While Kohli smashed his 54th ODI century, India were bowled out for 296 runs while chasing a mammoth target of 338 runs. As soon as Virat was dismissed for 124 runs, the Blackcaps landed the final blow to register a 2-1 series victory. Shubman, who hit half-centuries in the first two ODIs, failed to get going in the final match as he lost his wicket to Kyle Jamieson after scoring just 23.
However, he was quick to say that Kohli's recent form and Rana's performance with the bat were the positives from the series. Notably, this was the second series loss for Gill after taking over as India's ODI captain, as he had previously lost Down Under as well. "After the first match, coming here 1-1. The way we played was a bit disappointing. A lot of areas need some improvement. There are areas where we need to look back and reflect and do things better," skipper Gill said at the post-match presentation.
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"The way Virat bhai is batting, that is definitely a plus always. The way Harshit has batted in this series, batting at No.8 is not easy, but the way he stepped up and the way our fast bowlers have bowled in this series was very good," he added.
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Gill also stated that the team is looking to groom Nitish Reddy as a fast-bowling all-rounder ahead of the ODI World Cup 2027, which will be played in South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe. Reddy, who scored his maiden half-century in the series decider during the challenging run chase against the Black Caps, also bowled eight overs, where he conceded 53 runs at an economy rate of a little more than six.
“Keeping the World Cup in mind and where it is going to be, we want to give Nitish Kumar Reddy opportunities, and we want to give him enough overs when he is out there. We want to see which combinations work for us,” said Gill.