India vs New Zealand HIGHLIGHTS, 3rd ODI: Match called off due to rain, NZ wins series 1-0

The Indian players shake hands. Another tame finish and New Zealand had almost sealed the deal before the rain played spoilsport to wash out the match. The home side wins the series 1-0.

The groundsmen are hard at work with about 50 minutes or two overs of play left for the night.

An hour and a half almost since the stoppage and we haven’t had an official word yet. It must be still pouring at the Hagley Oval.

Rain stops play. Two overs from having an official result. New Zealand is well ahead (50!) of the DLS-par score.

Umran to Allen, OUT! Straight to Suryakumar at cover. A top knock comes to an end. Allen has done his job by laying out the platform for the chase.

Finn Allen c Yadav b Umran Malik 57 (54b 8x4 1x6)

Short ball from Sundar and Allen pumps it over long-off for a SIX - brings up his FIFTY of as many deliveries.

The Kiwis are motoring alone nicely as Allen and Conway build towards their half-centuries. Dhawan has flipped through his pacers with no reward.

Washington Sundar into the attack. Tight lines from Sundar as he tosses up the ball slower through the air. Three runs from the over.

Allen joins the party as he smacks Umran for two FOURs in the over. Slightly wayward in his lengths this time and he pays the price.

Conway flays Chahar with three successive FOURs in the over. Poor lengths there from the bowler as Conway is being fed with length balls in succession. A dot to follow and Conway slaps the next ball through cover for FOUR.

Umran into the attack. Impressive lines from Umran. A couple of wides in the over. Umran fends one short and Allen drives it through cover off the back foot. Allen pushes a fuller ball through mid-off for FOUR.

Chahar produces the outside-edge from Allen and it zips through the slip-cordon between first and second slips for FOUR

Catch, nearly! Inswinger onto the pads from Arshdeep and Allen chips it straight back to him. The ball bursts through Arshdeep’s hands at an awkward height and Allen survives.

First loosener from Chahar and Conway latches onto it with a flourishing drive through cover for FOUR.

Arshdeep hurries Conway with a bouncer. He mistimes his pull but the ball falls short of deep fine leg. Arshdeep swings it into Allen who slices it past short fine for FOUR. Arshdeep finishes up with a quick inswinging yorker.

The Kiwi openers are wary of the threat that Chahar poses with the new ball. Conway and Allen have been watchful at the start here. Just the two runs from the over.

Arshdeep Singh from the opposite end. Prodigious movement across the line for Arshdeep. Arshdeep squares up Conway with a straighter one - beaten all ends up. Maiden over.

Deepak Chahar takes the new ball. Allen is off the mark with two runs off the first ball. Chahar follows up with an outswinger on the fuller length. Just the two runs from the first over.

Devon Conway and Finn Allen walk out for New Zealand’s chase.

Southee bangs short and Sundar pulls it over mid-wicket for SIX and brings up his half-century in style! Short ball outside the off-stump and Southee gets a nick off Sundar to the keeper. The umpire raises his finger and Sundar attempts a review but loses it. India bundled for an underwhelming 219.

Washington Sundar c †Latham b Southee 51 (64b 5x4 1x6)

Mitchell to Arshdeep, OUT! Inswinger to the pads and that’s plumb in front

Arshdeep Singh lbw b Mitchell 9 (9b 1x6)

Southee is back. He slides the ball in to Arshdeep who smokes it out of the park over mid-wicket for SIX.

Sundar slides Santner past for short-fine for FOUR. A single to follow. Santner to Chahal, OUT! Top-edge and a simple catch at first-slip. Arshdeep Singh in at 10.

Yuzvendra Chahal c Southee b Santner 8 (22b)

Ferguson sends in a fiery bouncer and Chahal cops a hard blow. The physio is out to have a check on him.

First over of spin with Santner into the attack. Sundar tucks him across the line for two runs. A slew of ones and twos in the over.

Chahal gets on top of Ferguson’s bouncer and slaps it through point for three runs. Sundar follows up with a crisp drive past the bowler for FOUR.

Short ball from Mitchell and Chahar hammers it for SIX over mid-wicket. Mitchell to Chahar, OUT! Top-edge straight to mid-wicket. India crumbling in quick time now.

Deepak Chahar c Southee b Mitchell 12 (9b)

Mitchell hits the slot and Chahar nonchalantly lofts him down the ground for SIX.

Southee bangs in short and sends it down leg. Hooda swivels and misses the ball but the Kiwis are claiming for a caught-behind. OUT! There is indeed a spike on the replays and Hooda has to depart. Deepak Chahar in at 8.

Deepak Hooda c †Latham b Southee 12 (25b)

Henry and Southee have put Hooda in a tangle with a mix of the short ball and the nip-backer. Mitchell returns to the attack with a probing over.

Southee angles one in to Sundar’s pads and pays the price as the left-hander drills it past mid-on for FOUR.

Hooda is struggling to get a move on and Henry has worked his angles well against Sundar so far. Just the single from it.

Ferguson slides the ball to the pads and Sundar clips it neatly through mid-wicket for FOUR.

Ferguson sends a bouncer past Iyer and Latham for five wides. Ferguson to Iyer, OUT! Leading-edge straight to deep cover. A superb catch from Devon Conway. Iyer attempts to hit his way out of trouble but is caught this time. Washington Sundar in at 7.

Shreyas Iyer c Conway b Ferguson 49 (59b 8x4)

Milne to Suryakumar, OUT! Edged and a sharp catch by Southee at first slip. Suryakumar falls cheaply and India in a spot of bother now. Deepak Hooda in at 6.

Suryakumar Yadav c Southee b Milne 6 (10b)

Suryakumar gets a thick inside-edge down to square leg off Ferguson for three runs. Quick bumper from Ferguson but Iyer gets on top of the bounce to slash it through point for FOUR.

100 up for India. Iyer and Suryakumar are more watchful in their approach against Mitchell this time.

Milne’s contest continues with Iyer. He peppers Iyer with a couple of short deliveries but is smoked on either side of the wicket for two FOURs.

Mitchell to Pant, OUT! Holes out to a brilliant catch at deep square-leg. Pant attempts to swipe a slower-ball on length and he finds the man in the deep. That’s a nothing shot.

Rishabh Pant c Phillips b Mitchell 10 (16b 2x4)

Milne lands the ball short of good length and Pant unleashes a short-arm jab for FOUR through mid-wicket. He is beaten with the outswinger on a couple of occasions and gets away with a leading-edge to third-man.

Daryl Mitchell into the attack. Mitchell skims through a quiet over. Just the couple of runs from it.

Iyer has been good in patches against the high pace. Ferguson has cramped him up and forced him deep into the crease. Three runs from the over.

Short ball from Milne and Iyer flat-bats it down the ground for FOUR. Milne rushes in another back-of-a-length delivery and Iyer controls his pull better this time for another FOUR.

Ferguson’s high pace has kept the batters on their toes. Just three runs from another tidy over.

Milne offers a hint of room but he beats Iyer’s blade as he attempts to cut through point. Straighter delivery and Iyer is beaten once again on length.

Lockie Ferguson into the attack. A terrific inswinger cuts Iyer in half. He gets off strike with a single. Ferguson slides the ball onto the pads and Pant flicks it over mid-wicket for FOUR.

Adam Milne to Shikhar Dhawan, OUT! Dragged on. Dhawan’s sluggish stand comes to an end as he shimmies down the track to get an inside-edge back onto the stumps. Rishabh Pant in at 4.

Shikhar Dhawan b Milne 28 (45b 3x4 1x6)

Leading-edge from Iyer down to third-man and Adam Milne spills a regulation chance. How costly is that going to be? Full from Henry and Iyer drills it past mid-off for FOUR - FIFTY up for India.

Iyer and Dhawan play the waiting game against the ball that is moving around. Three runs from the over.

Crackerjack of an over from Henry who squares up Dhawan twice in the over. A maiden to end the first PowerPlay.

Adam Milne into the attack. Milne overpitches and Gill crunches the ball through extra cover for FOUR. Short from Milne and Gill pulls it in front of square for FOUR more. Milne to Gill, OUT! Gone this time. Mistimes the pull straight to short mid-wicket. Milne has the last laugh. Shreyas Iyer in at 3. Off the mark straightaway with a sizzling cover drive for FOUR.

Shubman Gill c Santner b Milne 13 (22b 2x4)

Dhawan attempts to charge down but Henry follows up with an incoming delivery that cramps him up. Length from Henry and Dhawan makes room to loft the ball over cover for FOUR. Uncharacteristic of Dhawan but he perhaps realises the need to get a move on. Inswinger and Dhawan lofts it over mid-on for two more runs.

Southee overpitches and Gill mistimes his lofted drive over mid-off for two runs. Gill attempts to take the aggressive route. He carves another ball over point for two more runs.

Outswinger from Henry and it beats Gill’s outside-edge once again. He follows up with an inswinger onto the pads and there is a stifled appeal to follow. Gill gets off the mark with an inside-edge down to backward square off his 12th delivery.

Southe mixes up his lengths to keep Dhawan wound to the crease. Dhawan attempts to break the shackles with a couple of drives but fails to beat the thick off-side field. Maiden over for Southee.

Henry targets Dhawan with the shorter ball to the ribs. Dhawan tucks it fine for a single Beauty from Henry. Gill had no way out of that corker of an outswinger from length. He bails out of somehow with the ball nearly chipping the outside-edge..

Length from Southee and Dhawan charges down to loft the ball over mid-off for SIX! Positive intent from the skipper. as eight runs come off the over.

Matt Henry from the opposite end. BEATEN! Henry skids the ball past Dhawan’s outside-edge. Fuller this time and Dhawan flays the ball over cover for FOUR.

Tim Southee takes the new ball. Dhawan on strike. A bit of inward movement with the first ball from Southee. Straighter this time and Dhawan gets an outside-edge down to third-man for a single. Full and straight from Southee and Gill presents a solid block. Four successive dots from Gill. Sharp start for Southee.

Shikhar Dhawan and Shubman Gill walk out to the middle for India.

New Zealand XI: Finn Allen, Devon Conway, Kane Williamson(c), Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham(w), Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Adam Milne, Matt Henry, Tim Southee, Lockie Ferguson

India XI: Shikhar Dhawan(c), Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant(w), Deepak Hooda, Washington Sundar, Deepak Chahar, Umran Malik, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal

TOSS: New Zealand wins the toss, opts to bowl

Kane Williamson: We’re gonna have a bowl first. Obviously the overhead conditions and green tinge, so. All our grounds are a bit different. It was a good team performance (in the first ODI), put under pressure and we responded well. The surface here generally has a lot of bounce.

Shikhar Dhawan: You always go with the mindset of winning. We are relaxed in the dressing room and are switching on whenever needed. We’re just sticking to the processes. More grass on this surface, would have liked to bowl as well but we need to bat well. Last game I thought it would seam a lot, but it played well. Shubman has batted well, even Surya. It’s about being positive and creating momentum. Same team.

It has been disappointing weather-wise but hope we get a full game. It (coaching role) is fully satisfying, obviously it’s only a stop-gap arrangement but it’s been fun working with the young guys. It’s about the combination you want to play for each game. India is blessed to have a strong depth of talent and bench strength. It’s about giving them opportunities and also informing them whenever they aren’t picked. Pant has been doing well at no. 4, not too long ago he scored an important century at Old Trafford and it’s important to back him.

“It looks quite green and the record overall here shows that 280 is the average score batting first. It is a firm surface but there is a lot of a live grass on this. Cloud cover is on and definitely there will be a lot in it for the pacers,” - Ashish Nehra and Murali Kartik.

Shikhar Dhawan and Kane Williamson walk out to the middle for the toss.

Pant: The umbrella has been used a lot on this tour. It has rained only on match days. I would like bat at the top in T20Is, and at No. 4 or 5 in ODIs. Your game plan changes accordingly... I don’t have a bad record in white-ball cricket. I’m just 24. There is no down time now, with us travelling to Bangladesh directly from here.

• Suryakumar Yadav (74) needs five sixes to surpass Rohit Sharma (78 in 2019) for most sixes across formats in a calendar year.
  

• Tim Southee needs three wickets for 100 ODI wickets at home.

Toss delayed, covers on but the players have stepped out for warm-ups as the rain has relented in Christchurch.

We have our first visuals for the morning from Christchurch. Well, it’s bad news with showers hovering over the Hagley Oval in Christchurch. Looks like we are set for a delayed start.

The India vs New Zealand 3rd ODI will be live from 7 AM IST. The IND vs NZ match will be live streamed on Amazon Prime and telecast on DD Sports. The toss for the India vs New Zealand match will take place at 6:30 AM IST.

Frustrated by the fickle weather, a desperate Indian team would pray for a rain-free final ODI against New Zealand in its bid to finish on an even keel in a series that neither had context nor any major takeaways.

There is forecast of scattered showers in Christchurch and nothing can be more irritating than playing a series where the Gen-Next of Indian cricket hardly got any game time to show their prowess.

Out of five white-ball games that also includes three-match T20I series, two matches (one T20I and one ODI) didn’t yield any result and one game (T20I) was curtailed significantly and ended in a tie due to Duckworth-Lewis method.

With the series in line, Shikhar Dhawan and his men would aim to put up an impactful performance at the picturesque Hagley Oval ground, which has traditionally helped the seam bowlers and has an average score in the 230 range in the past few years.

The Indian batting in first Powerplay (first 10 overs) has been much talked about and even though skipper Dhawan has been a prolific ODI opener over the years, even he understands that to secure his place for the next World Cup, his approach needs a sea change.

His young opening partner Shubman Gill, however, has shown more intent in shot selection with scores of 50 and 45 not out in the two games.

So has Indian cricket’s current blue-eyed boy Suryakumar Yadav, whose three sixes in a short 12.5 overs of play at the Seddon Park, did send the Indian supporters into raptures.

But the bigger challenge for Indian batting line-up will be to put up an above par score against New Zealand on a ground where swing bowlers have ruled the roost in the past few ODI games.

And for that, not just the openers or Surya but the likes of Rishabh Pant also needs to step up and be counted.

Rishabh’s ODI record is pretty impressive but currently, the runs have dried up since the tour of England (primarily in 20 over cricket) and he is one player, who needs to fire in order to ensure that Indian middle-order looks competitive against a quality Black Caps attack.

Rishabh’s presence and lack of bowling options among the specialist batters also effectively mean that Sanju Samson has to once again sit out, like the last game where Deepak Hooda, because of his all-round skills, was preferred over the immensely popular cricketer from Kerala.

Since the last match was a wash-out, it will be interesting if interim head coach VVS Laxman decides to shuffle with the playing XI, especially the bowling attack where Kuldeep Yadav is yet to get an opportunity.

But to leave out either Yuzvendra Chahal or Washington Sundar will be doing them a disservice.

Shardul Thakur looked pedestrian in the opening ODI in Auckland and, in all likelihood, Arshdeep Singh, Deepak Chahar and the fiery Umran Malik will continue to lead the pace attack.

For the New Zealand pacers Matt Henry, Tim Southee and Lockie Ferguson, there couldn’t be a better venue to exploit the frailties in India’s batting to the fullest.

Similarly, the Indian bowling attack would get a conducive bowling track to ask some probing questions to the likes of Tom Latham and Kane Williamson, who have proved to be the thorn in flesh during the last game.

The teams

India: Shikhar Dhawan (captain), Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Deepak Hooda, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Deepak Chahar, Arshdeep Singh, Shardul Thakur and Umran Malik.

New Zealand: Kane Williamson (captain), Finn Allen, Devin Conway, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, Tim Southee, Matt Henry, Adam Milne, Jimmy Neesham, Mitchell Santner and Lockie Ferguson.

Match Starts: 7 am IST.