Daryl Mitchell is having a series to remember against India. New Zealand’s No.4 batter marched ahead with the momentum as he notched up back-to-back centuries against the hosts in the third and final ODI on Sunday at the Holkar Stadium in Indore.
The No.2-ranked ODI batter in the ICC rankings came out to bat in the series decider with New Zealand in a spot of bother after losing the openers with just five runs on the board.
However, the 34-year-old did not break a sweat as he handled Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana and Mohammed Siraj with ease. Mitchell showed his class as he dispatched Kuldeep Yadav for a straight six off the very first ball he bowled in the game. The signs were ominous for India right from the get-go as Mitchell showed no signs of being in trouble.
Mitchell, along with Will Young, revived New Zealand’s innings, and the duo put on 53 runs for the third wicket. However, the latter ended up losing his wicket against the run of play off the bowling of Rana. However, it was then that Glenn Phillips walked out to the middle, and he, along with Mitchell, started hammering Indian bowlers for fun.
Mitchell finally notched up his ninth ODI century off balls in the 36th over of the game. He completed the milestone off the bowling of Ravindra Jadeja, bringing the ton off 106 balls. After reaching the landmark, the right-hander was quite mellow in his celebrations as he simply removed his helmet to soak in the applause from his teammates and the crowd at the Holkar Stadium. It is also worth mentioning that this was Mitchell’s 4th ODI century against India.
This was also Mitchell’s fourth ODI hundred in India, the joint-most for a New Zealand batter alongside Nathan Astle. He is now in the second spot in the list for most ODI centuries by a New Zealand batter, only behind Astle (5). However, it is important to mention that Astle’s five centuries came in 29 innings while Mitchell has taken just 11 innings to notch up four tons against India.
Mitchell has been in remarkable form in the three ODIs against India, scoring more than 300 runs. In the opening two matches, he returned with scores of 84 and 131 not out.
‘Sublime form’
As soon as Mitchell got to yet another century against India, Simon Doull, Sunil Gavaskar and Deep Dasgupta couldn’t stop themselves from raving about the New Zealand batter who has been in remarkable touch of late.
In commentary, Doull said, “The rich vein of form continues for Daryl Mitchell. He is in such good form at the moment, and New Zealand would be hoping long may it continue. Another fantastic century.”
On the other hand, former India captain Gavaskar said that Mitchell played a “sublime” knock as everything came from the middle of his bat. Lastly, Deep Dasgupta said that the “juggernaut keeps rolling” as Mitchell has been “unstoppable right through the three-match series.”
“It has been a sublime innings. Everything has come from the middle of the bat. Don’t think he has played or missed or the ball has wrapped his pads,” said Gavaskar.
Speaking of the third ODI, India captain Shubman Gill won the toss and decided to bowl first in the series decider.