NEW ZEALAND INNINGS, TARGET 253; RESULT - INDIA WON BY 35 Runs
Ambati Rayudu, Vijay Shankar and all-rounder Hardik Pandya rose to the occasion to hand India a 35-run victory.
After losing four quick wickets for just 18 runs, Rayudu (90), Shankar (45) and Kedar Jadhav (34) stabilised the Indian innings and then Pandya made a quickfire 45 in 22 balls towards the end to post a decent score before the Indian bowlers came into the picture and dismissed New Zealand for 217.
Chasing 253, New Zealand were bowled out for 217 runs in 44.1 overs with Yuzvendra Chahal taking three wickets. Mohammed Shami and Pandya took a brace of wickets each while Jadhav got one.
For the Kiwis, Jimmy Neesham top-scored with 44 runs.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar takes the last wicket of Trent Boult as India win by 35 runs. It helped India secure a 4-1 win in the five-match series.
Ambati Rayudu won the man of the match award. Mohammed Shami won the player of the series award.
Brief scores:
India: 252 all out in 49.5 overs (Shankar 45, Rayudu 90, Pandya 45; Henry 4/35).
New Zealand: 217 all out in 44.1 overs (James Neesham 44; Yuzvendra Chahal 3/41).
Then, Yuzvendra Chahal trapped Latham 37(49) in front. FoW 119/5 (28.3). Colin de Grandhomme is the new man for the Kiwis.
Kedar Jadhav broke the dangerous looking Kane Willaimson-Tom Lathan stand. He had Kiwi captain 39(73) caught by Shikhar Dhawan at mid-wicket. Williamson added 67 runs with Tom Latham for the fourth-wicket FoW 105/4 (25.4). Jimmy Neesham joined Latham in the centre.
After the end of 15 overs, New Zealand were 49/3 with Kane Williamson on 14 off 38 and Tom Latham on 4 off 145. They still need 204 runs.
In the 11th over, Hardik Pandya trapped Ross Taylor (1 off 4) in front.
Second for Mohammed Shami. Bowled Colin Munro (24 off 19). FoW 37/2 (9.1). Kane Williamson is joined by Ross Taylor.
Mohammed Shami removed Henry Nicholls (8 off 15). Caught at mid-on by Kedar Jadhav. FoW 18/1 (3.3). Kane Williamson joined Colin Munro in the centre.
INDIA INNINGS - 252 All Out in 49.5 Overs
A late flourish helped India post a fighting total of 252 runs in the fifth and final match of the ODI series. Hardik Pandya (45 off 22) and Ambati Rayudu (90 off 113) played two contrasting knocks after the Kiwi quicks reduced India to 18/4 inside the first ten overs. Vijay Shankar (45 off 64) and Kedar Jadhav (34 off 45) contributed with 45 and 34 runs respectively.
New Zealand's Matt Henry scalped four wickets while Trent Boult took three.
Brief scores: India: 252/10 (Ambati Rayudu 90; Hardik Pandya 45; Matt Henry 4/35) against New Zealand.
What an over for India. Three sixes as Hardik Pandya milked Todd Astle in the 47th. 18 runs from it. A while ago, India lost the wickets of Ambati Rayudu 90(113) and Kedar Jadhav 34(45).
Deadly mixed-up between Ambati Rayudu and Vijay Shankar. A needless one. It ended a 98-run stand.
WICKET: Vijay Shankar run out 45(64); FoW 116/5 (31.5)
Kedar Jadhav is the new man for India.
Ambati Rayudu-Vijay Shankar stand has steadied the India innings. They have added 85 from 117 balls and India were 103/4 after 29 overs.
A 22-run stand off 39 balls between Ambati Rayudu and Vijay Shankar has somehow stopped the slide, it seems. India - 40/4 (16).
What a beauty. Trent Boult has just broken many Indian hearts. Dhoni opted to defend and still beaten, breached the gap. Bowled.
WICKET: MS Dhoni b Trent Boult 1(6); FoW 18/4 (9.3)
Vijay Shankar joined Ambati Rayudu.
Hamilton revisited at Wellington. Talented Shubman Gill failed to check his shot, and caught at cover by Mitchell Santner. Second for Matt Henry.
WICKET: Shubman Gill c b Matt Henry 7(11); FoW 17/3 (6.6)
MS Dhoni got a loud welcome.
Shikhar Dhawan also perished, caught at third man by Matt Henry. Dhawan tried playing uppercut against Trent Boult's short ball, and paid the price.
WICKET: Shikhar Dhawan c Matt Henry b Trent Boult 6(13); FoW 12/2 (5.5)
Ambati Rayudu joined Shubman Gill in the centre.
Rohit Sharma departs, bowled by a Matt Henry beauty. Unplayable. The Kiwi pacer squared the Indian captain up and the outswinger beat the bat. Then the ball met the off stump.
WICKET: Rohit Sharma b Matt Henry 2(16); FoW 8/1 (4.1)
And Rohit failed to score a hundred for the first in a bilateral ODI series. Shubman Gill joined Shikhar Dhawan.
Before the first ball, let's have a look at India's record at Wellington. India have played three ODIs here, and it's 1-1-1. Won one, lost one and one no result. In 2003, Sourav Ganguly's India escaped with a two-wicket win chasing a 169-run target. Zaheer Khan was the hero - taking three wickets and scoring 34 off 42. That was in 2003.
Both the teams shared the honours in 2009 after India got off to a good start with fifties for Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag. Rain!
Then, India failed to chase New Zealand's 303, falling short by 87 runs in 2014. Kohli scored 82 but it was overshadowed by Taylor's 102.
Team news
India made more than a couple of changes. Dhoni, as expected, is back, in place of Dinesh Karthik. Mohammed Shami and Vijay Shankar in for Khaleel Ahmed and Kuldeep Yadav respectively.
One change for the Kiwis, out of necessity though. Colin Munro in for injured Guptill.
India: Rohit Sharma (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Shubman Gill, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni (w), Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, Vijay Shankar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Yuzvendra Chahal
New Zealand: Henry Nicholls, Colin Munro, Kane Williamson (c), Ross Taylor, Tom Latham (wk), James Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Colin de Grandhomme, Todd Astle, Matt Henry, Trent Boult
Toss
Rohit Sharma calls head, and it's head. India bat first. He promises to put up a good show after that humiliating defeat.
Squads
India: Rohit Sharma (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Vijay Shankar, Shubman Gill, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Siraj, Khaleel Ahmed, Ravindra Jadeja, Hardik Pandya.
New Zealand: Kane Williamson (c), Todd Astle, Trent Boult, Colin de Grandhomme, Lockie Ferguson, Martin Guptill, Matt Henry, Tom Latham (wk), Colin Munro, Jimmy Neesham, Henry Nicholls, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, and Ross Taylor.
Meanwhile, Martin Guptill has been ruled out with a back injury. "He aggravated his lower back while throwing a ball in fielding training yesterday and team physio Vijay Vallabh said he would miss today's game as a precaution.
He is one of the only three batsmen to aggregate more than 400 runs in the ground. He has 402 runs. Kiwi captain Kane Williamson (434) and former skipper Brendon McCullum (427), the other two.
Quick Preview
India suffered one of their worst ever ODI defeats at Seddon Park on Thursday with New Zealand registering an eight-wicket win with 212 balls to spare.
Winning and losing is a part of the game, but the debacle in Hamilton reflected India's inability to deal with the swinging deliveries, and of course the lack of 'spine' in the absence of skipper Virat Kohli and mercurial Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
But the visitors, ranked second in the ODI rankings and one of the favourites to win the World Cup in the summer, will look to end the five-match series on a high.
And that brings us to the team combination and the playing condition.
On the eve of the match, India have confirmed the return of Dhoni, who missed the previous two matches due to hamstring concerns. His arrival will boost the Indian camp. And with a good start from the openers, India can hope to post a big total/chase any target.
The Westpac Stadium in Wellington has an average first innings total of 232 runs and 205 in the second, meaning it has a history of being a bowler-friendly venue, and no prize for guessing which form.
But the good thing for India is, it has also witnessed some high scores. Remember that Martin Guptill double ton against the West Indies in the 2015 World Cup quarters? And during the same World Cup, Sri Lanka chased down England's 309 with ease.
