Tauranga ODI: India beat Kiwis by 7 wickets, take unassailable lead

Tauranga (New Zealand), Jan 28 (ANI): India defeated New Zealand by seven wickets in the third ODI of their ongoing five-match series and took an unassailable 3-0 lead here at the Bay Oval Cricket Ground on Monday.
Chasing an easy target of 244 runs, Indian top-order batsmen produced a flawless performance to guide their side to victory, with seven overs still left in the match.
Opening batsmen Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma gave a steady start to India but the duo could not extend their partnership beyond 39 runs. Dhawan lost his wicket when a moving delivery from pacer Trent Boult deceived him completely. He got out at the score of 28 runs.
The next man to walk down the crease was skipper Virat Kohli. Sharma and Kohli stitched an innings defining partnership of 113 runs to put India in a safe position.
The visitors lost their second wicket in the 28th over when Sharma, who was batting at the score of 62, fell to a beautiful length delivery by Mitchell Santner. After two over, Kohli also departed back to pavilion at the score of 60 after being dismissed by Boult.
The batting pair of Ambati Rayudu and Dinesh Karthik picked up the Indian innings from 168 for 3 and took their side home. The duo stitched an unbeaten 72 runs partnership to finish on the winning side.
For New Zealand, While Boult picked up two wickets, Santner contributed with one wicket in the match.
Next, India and New Zealand will take on each other in their fourth ODI which is slated to be held on January 31 at the Seddon Park. (ANI)