India consolidate No1 ODI ranking after New Zealand series win

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India continued their winning run in New Zealand as they clinched the ODI series 3-1 after a hard-fought 22-run win in the fifth and final match in Tauranga.India consolidated…

India continued their winning run in New Zealand as they clinched the ODI series 3-1 after a hard-fought 22-run win in the fifth and final match in Tauranga.

India consolidated their No1 ranking in ODI cricket with a morale boosting victory in difficult conditions against a top side.

The tourists, who had won the preceding T20 series 3-2, are now on 116 rankings points in ODIs, well ahead of second placed New Zealand who are on 107.

India have three more ODIs against Sri Lanka to close out the year, which means they will enter the new year as top-ranked team in 50 overs cricket and one of the favourites for the World Cup which will take place in southern Africa later in the season.

The team in blue seemed in trouble batting first on Sunday. Middle-order batters Axar Patel and Ishan Kishan showed spirit as they made 46 apiece, but the team could only post 209 in 42.1 overs.

But India's bowlers made the most of challenging conditions under lights in Tauranga, with left-arm seamer Arshdeep Singh ​leading ​a pace-led fightback.

New Zealand seemed in control at 64-1 before the visitors' pacers ⁠sparked a dramatic collapse, with the hosts losing five wickets for 55 runs before crashing out on 187 in 48.1 overs.

Put in to bat, India made a cautious ⁠start, mindful of their crushing 244-run defeat in the previous ODI. But it did not change the outcome as New Zealand's ‌bowlers ripped through the top order, with Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli both getting out for single digit scores in their final outing on New Zealand soil.

All-rounder Axar and wicketkeeper Kishan helped ​the visitors recover.

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