It’s been a soaking wet start to the New Zealand summer and mirroring India’s 1-0 victory in the rain affected T20 series the Black Caps came up trumps in the ODI series winning it 1-0. Cricket analyst Rahul Patil back from a five-week tour of Australia and New Zealand reports.

New Zealand vs India - 1st ODI - New Zealand won the toss and elected to field first.

India 306 for 7 in 50 overs (Dhawan 72, Gill 50, Iyer 80, Ferguson 3/59) lost to New Zealand 309 for 3 in 47.1 overs (Williamson 94*, Latham 145*, Umran Malik 2/66) by 7 wickets with 17 balls remaining.

India’s inability to score quickly in the power play has come under scrutiny for a while now. We saw more of the same in this game. Openers Shikhar Dhawan and Shubman Gill took their time in getting to 40 in the first 10 overs. A flat wicket and a small ground definitely demanded more aggression. Just when it looked like they were stepping on the accelerator they both fell in quick succession and the innings once again got stuck in rut. Rishab Pant looked rusty and Suryakumar Yadav had a rare failure. Shreyas Iyer and Sanju Samson consolidated but it only came at the cost of the runs drying up. It was only due to a cameo by Washington Sundar (37 of 16) that India managed to reach 306 which everyone thought was well below par for the course.

An inspired opening spell by Shardul Thakur (5-1-14-1) and a couple of wickets by the debutant Umran Malik meant that New Zealand were in a spot of bother at 88 for 3 in the 20th over still requiring 219 to win in 181 balls. The experienced pair of captain Kane Williamson and Tom Latham then took the reins of the run chase in their own hands and stitched together an unbroken 221 run partnership to take the Black Caps to victory by seven wickets with 17 balls remaining.

It was ODI batting of the highest calibre. Consolidation, soaking up all the pressure, running hard between wickets, putting the loose ball away to the boundary, changing gears at the right time and then getting home with a flourish.

Tom Latham in particular was spectacular. He loves playing against India and has produced this kind of innings against them in the past as well. When he came in to bat, Williamson was on 29. At the end Latham was 145 not out and Williamson was unbeaten on 94. The fact that Latham turned a 29-run deficit into a 51-run lead over his partner tells us of his domination in the partnership. When he is set he hits good balls to the boundary making it very difficult to bowl to him. The fact that he also keeps wickets for 50 overs shows his level of fitness. He is reaping the rewards of playing first class cricket and having runs under his belt.

New Zealand vs India - 2nd ODI - New Zealand won the toss and elected to field first.

India 89 for 1 in 12.5 overs (Gill 45*, Suryakumar 34*, Henry 1/20) vs New Zealand. No result due to rain.

Persistent rain in Hamilton turned a possible exciting encounter into a damp squib. Asked to bat first India were 22 for no loss in 4.5 overs when the rain first arrived. The match resumed a few hours later with the number of overs per side reduced to 29. India showed the necessary urgency by promoting Suryakumar Yadav to number three and he and Gill played some attractive strokes to take India to 89 for 1 in 12.5 overs. But the rain returned and the game had to be called off. Yet another game of cricket lost to the weather, yet another crowd of fans disappointed.

New Zealand vs India - 3rd ODI - New Zealand won the toss and elected to field first.

India 219 all out in 47.3 overs (Iyer 49, Washington 51, Darryl Mitchell 3/25, Milne 3/57, Southee 2/36) vs New Zealand 104 for 1 in 18 overs (Finn Allen 57, Conway 38*, Malik 1/21) No result due to rain.

Another day, another city and another game of cricket washed out by the rain. This one will really hurt New Zealand as all they required was two more overs to be bowled and they would have won the match via Duckworth Lewis calculations. Still by virtue of their win in the 1st ODI they picked up the series win to enhance their position as the number one ranked ODI team in the world.

Asked to bat first on a greenish Christchurch wicket all the India batters struggled. Every single one of them got a start but failed to convert it into a meaningful contribution. Once again Washington Sundar singlehandedly took India from a position of despair to a respectable but well below par 219.

New Zealand began the run chase in style with Finn Allen and Devon Conway putting on 97 for the first wicket. They looked on course to register a comfortable victory when the heavens opened up and literally poured water over their plans. When the match was stopped due to rain, 18 overs had been bowled and New Zealand were well ahead on Duckworth Lewis calculations. For a result to be counted a minimum of 20 overs have to be bowled by each side. New Zealand missed out on a win by two overs.

It’s been a bit of a nothing series. India won the T20 series 1-0. New Zealand won the ODI series 1-0 and rain affected five of the six games played across both series.