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Kohli-Dhoni masterclass help India rout Kiwis in 3rd ODI

  • India beat New Zealand by 7 wickets in the 3rd ODI at Mohali.
  • Kohli led the victory with 154 runs off 134 balls.
  • The 4th ODI will be played at Ranchi on Wednesday.
Kohli Dhoni masterclass help India rout Kiwis in 3rd ODI

With this win, the hosts have gone 2-1 up in their ongoing five-ODI series. Kohli, who smashed his 26th ODI hundred, remained unbeaten on 154 off 134 balls and his innings was inclusive of 15 fours and a six.

 

Kohli has etched his role as the go-to-man of the Indian team during their chases. Although, considering the strong batting line-up of Team India, a chase of 287 was not very tricky.

 

However, due to the early dismissals of Indian openers, Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane, Kohli was once again in a situation where his form was key for the team's result.

 

Along with the smart cricket he displayed, he had a bit of luck as well. New Zealand's Ross Taylor dropped Kohli when the batting assassin was just on six runs.

 

During the post-match presentation, Taylor's missed catch was talked about twice. After Sanjay Manjrekar had teased the Kiwi captain about that, it was the man himself, Kohli, who brought up the topic once again.

 

"I feel sorry for Ross. I exactly know how it feels. I dropped Brendon's [McCullum] catch once, and he went on to score 300," Kohli said after he received the Player of the Match award.

 

Dhoni at No. 4

 

Promoting himself up the order, the Indian skipper MS Dhoni, joined Kohli in the middle at No. 4.The duo, which is a treat to watch when in form, stitched a stand of 151 off 163 balls for the third wicket before Dhoni fell in the 36th over.

 

Coming up the order was a decision which Dhoni took for himself, rather than the team.

 

"One has to see that I am not playing Tests anymore. Lower down; I play according to what the situation demands. Batting at number four was an ideal position to express myself. It is more of my need than the team's. Other guys can play at four too, but we need to think about grooming batsmen to bat five, six and seven," Dhoni who scored 80 off 91 balls told PTI after the fantastic win at Mohali.

 

The visitors had earlier suffered a batting collapse before Jimmy Neesham (57) and Matt Henry (39*) came up with an 84-run stand for the ninth wicket to take their side to a competitive total.

 

Both the teams will next head to Dhoni's home town, Ranchi, where they lock horns for the fourth ODI. It is a must-win for the visitors, to remain alive in the ODI series.

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