IND vs NZ

Though the match was abandoned due to rain, Southee got to clock 150 ODI appearances and is not at the 15th place in the most appearances for New Zealand in the format. In the first ODI against India at Auckland, he became the fifth New Zealand bowler to pick 200 ODI wickets.

Ravi Shastri's comments come after Gill sparkled in the 12.5 overs of play in the second ODI at Hamilton, which was abandoned due to rain. Gill drove elegantly past mid-on twice and cut Tim Southee fiercely through cover before the first spell of rain stopped play for nearly three-and-a-half hours.

Before rain eventually prevailed, 12.5 overs of play was possible as India were pushed into batting first by New Zealand, who won the toss for the second time in as many matches of this series. Shubman Gill and Suryakumar Yadav entertained the crowd with some scintillating stroke-play on a pitch which was aiding fast bowlers. Suryakumar hit three glorious sixes in his unbeaten 25-ball 34, while Gill was crisp in his timing and placement of shots to be 45 not out off 42 deliveries.

Hamilton is a city which is an hour and half away drive from Auckland and with that, changes will come into play as Seddon Park is a batting-friendly pitch with dimensions not as funky as it is in Eden Park. The visitors would be aware that in order to save the series, they need their openers, captain Shikhar Dhawan and Shubman Gill to get runs at a faster pace.

After Shreyas Iyer top-scored with 80 off 76 balls while captain Shikhar Dhawan and Shubman Gill struck 72 and 50 respectively in their fourth hundred-plus stand as an opening pair this year to propel India to a challenging 306/7, New Zealand were in trouble at 88/3 in 19.5 overs.

In this cycle of non-stop cricket at the international level, India and New Zealand will realise that they need to move on from their respective semifinal exits in the T20 World Cup and build-up to the ODI World Cup which is now less than 12 months away.

After India's semi-final exit at the T20 World Cup in a 10-wicket loss to eventual champions England at the Adelaide Oval, their conservative approach in power-play came under severe criticism. With many tipping Hardik to be the next T20I captain of India, the bilateral series win against New Zealand has the chance to boost his leadership credentials for a full-time leadership role in the shortest format of the game.

While Mohammed Siraj rattled New Zealand batters with his hard lengths, Arshdeep was bringing out all the tools he had in his armoury to outclass the hosts' batting line-up. He took out Daryl Mitchell with a potent bouncer and then dismissed Ish Sodhi for a first-ball duck with a pin-point yorker.

After New Zealand won the toss and opted to bat first, Indian pacers Mohammed Siraj (4/17) and Arshdeep Singh (4/37) produced sensational bowling performances to bowl out the Black Caps for 160 despite fighting half-centuries by Devon Conway (59 off 49) and Glenn Phillips (54 off 33).

After New Zealand won the toss and opted to bat first, Indian pacers Mohammed Siraj (4/17) and Arshdeep Singh (4/37) produced sensational bowling performances and scalped four wickets each to bowl out the Black Caps for 160 despite fighting half-centuries by Devon Conway (59 off 49) and Glenn Phillips (54 off 33).