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Gautam Gambhir won the toss at Vadodra Cricket Stadium on Saturday and asked New Zealand to make first use of the pitch. But it was Zahir Khan and Munaf Patel who utilised the moist morning conditions. New Zealand could pile up only 224 runs and it was by no stretch of imagination a fighting score.

Gautam Gambhir

Gautam Gambhir made the chase look ridiculously easy and maintained his captaincy record also as he produced a Captain’s knock of 126 not out to wipe out the New  Zealand total of 224  runs for 9 wickets with more than ten overs to spare. He cracked his second century on the trot, to power India to a series-clinching nine-wicket victory over New Zealand in the third ODI at Vadodara today.

India  have taken an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match ODI series.

Gambhir, who smashed 16 boundaries with his flicks and drives in the 117 balls he faced, put on 115 runs for the opening wicket with Murali Vijay who made a slow 30 in 50 balls before being run out.

Kohli remained unbeaten on 63 in 70 balls with six fours and two sixes. He also hit the winning runs, a six over long on. (more…)

All that New Zealand did right was to have won the toss in the third and final Test played against India at Nagpur Stadium. Thereafter it was a pathetic display of cricket by New Zealand. After chosing to bat first, New Zealand were skittled out for a measely score of 193 runs.

Harbhajan Singh

India in turn, piled of a mammoth 566 for 8 declared which was studded by 191 runs by Rahul Dravid, 98 runs by Dhoni and the New Zealanders had an uphill task of scoring 373 runs in their second innings, and they failed miserably. 

Two Indian pacers and the spinning trio (Raina included) wrecked havoc for the batsman who could neither read the arm-ball nor could judge the turn well and surrendered their fight as soon as it had begun in asmuch as they lost the last nine wickets in just over a session of play.

India won the test match about an hour after the lunch break. Pragyan Ojha, Harbhajan Singh and Suresh Raina bowled and were adequately switched by skipper Dhoni, who in the end, called in Ishant Sharma, who cleaned up the tail by rattling the timber of Southee and Martin, twice in a span of two balls.  (more…)