3 Moments that cost India ODI series vs New Zealand

India lost an ODI series on home soil against New Zealand for the first time. The intense series finished 1-2 in favour of Michael Bracewell's men. The Men in Blue won the first match, but the Kiwis bounced back commendably to bag the next two encounters and eventually made the series theirs.

During the three-match assignment, there were some excellent individual performances from the Indian team. However, the Shubman Gill-led side failed to do well as a unit. Let's discuss in detail what went wrong for the Men in Blue.

3 Moments that cost India ODI series vs New Zealand

3. Rohit Sharma's quiet campaign

When Rohit Sharma played well against Australia and South Africa, India looked like a different team. However, against New Zealand, the Mumbai batter didn't have a memorable outing. In three innings, he scored just 61 runs at an average of 20.33 and a strike rate of 76.25.

Shubman Gill did score two half-centuries, but had his fellow opener also been in form, India would have been able to get a head start, making the job of the middle-order batters much easier.

2. Ineffectiveness of spinners

Indian spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja were expected to play a key role in the series. However, both of them were far from their best. They failed to squeeze the flow of runs in the middle overs and build any sort of pressure.

Kuldeep bagged three wickets in the series at an average of 60.67 and an economy rate of 7.28. On the other hand, Jadeja went wicketless across the three matches. The Saurashtra all-rounder conceded runs at an economy rate of 6.13.

1. Insipid fielding, inability to dismiss Daryl Mitchell

India's fielding wasn't at its best in the series. Even the skipper Shubman Gill acknowledged the same after the third ODI in Indore. The desperation in the field was lacking, and some dropped chances also made things difficult for the hosts to keep themselves active in the series.

Another area of concern was their inability to dismiss Daryl Mitchell. The right-handed batter rotated strike with ease and hit boundaries at will. Mohammed Siraj said ahead of the third ODI that India have plans for Mitchell. However, the experienced batter smashed a belligerent ton in the series decider and finished as the highest run-getter.