This is the first whitewash that India has suffered in an ODI series in more than a decade.
KL Rahul struck a combative 112 but New Zealand completed a 3-0 whitewash of India by winning the third ODI by five wickets, on Tuesday.
Rahul helped India recover from a shaky start to post a challenging 296 for 7 but the Kiwis overhauled the target with 17 balls to spare.
This is the first whitewashing that India has suffered in an ODI series in more than a decade.
Sent in to bat, India were down 62/3 in the 13th over after the dismissals of Mayank Agarwal (1), captain Virat Kohli (9) and Prithvi Shaw (40) but Rahul got a useful ally in in-form Shreyas Iyer (62) to take India to a competitive total.
Rahul, who hit nine fours and two sixes during his 113-ball innings, and Iyer stitched exactly 100 runs from 18.2 overs for the fourth wicket to revive the Indian innings.
After the end of the promising innings of Iyer, Rahul shared another 107 runs for the fifth wicket with Manish Pandey (42).
The Kiwis were off to a confident start in their chase with Martin Guptill (66) and Henry Nicholls (80) and putting on a 106-run stand. However, wrist spinner Yuzvendra Chahal took three wickets to bring India back in the game.
Colin de Grandhomme (58) and Tom Latham (32), though, took their side past the finish line with an unbeaten 80-run partnership.
Reflecting on the loss, India captain Virat Kohli expressed disappointment and said: “The games were not as bad as the scoreline suggests. But the way we fielded and bowled, the composure wasn’t enough to win games. Didn’t deserve to be on the winning side this series. Haven’t played so badly, but we didn’t grab opportunities.”
“They played with lot more intensity than we did. They deservedly won 3-0. We are excited for the Test series. We now have a balanced team and need to step out on the park with the right kind of mindset.”
New Zealand skipper, Kane Williamson said: “Outstanding performance, India put us under pressure every game of this series and today, the first half the way boys fought with the ball was brilliant. The cricket smarts were outstanding to see and it’s something that the boys did that well throughout the series.”
“There are always things to learn from sides like India and it’s a great start and we are just building on these performances and looking forward to ODIs with Australia later on. Like I said, an outstanding effort against a brilliant side like India. Its recovering (the shoulder) well which is a good thing and just want to make a special mention to Hindo, obviously a fan and friend of the team and member of the Sky cricket team and just want him to know that all (the team) are thinking about him.”
