India vs New Zealand, 3rd ODI: Report card: Reasons for India's victory

1. The Kohli-Rohit partnership

The 113 runs alliance in a little over 20 overs sucked the air out of New Zealand. The run-rate hovered above 5 all the time as India crossed the 150-mark in the 27th over itself. And such a partnership is too overbearing for a side that is trying to defend a middling total like 243. The pitch was slow and several times the ball did not come on to the bat but the class and skills of Rohit and Kohli were too high to get affected by such pesky external factors. By the time Kohli and Rohit departed India were so close to the target.

2. The Rayudu-Karthik alliance

When they joined together India still needed 76 runs to close the match. Of course, there were a good number of overs to spare but a job had to be completed. This time the assuring presence of MS Dhoni was missing because of a sore hamstring. Rayudu did not have a great time against Australia and in the first two ODIs against New Zealand. But the right-hander made light of all that to produce a classy unbeaten 40 off 42 balls to show why the Indian team management think that he is the answer to the No 4 conundrum. Karthik got a chance to play in this ODI because of Dhoni's injury and he did not waste the chance. He was tidy behind the stumps and scored an unbeaten 38 off 38 balls to ensure that India reach home without any jitters in the company of Rayudu.

3. Bowlers to the fore

As is their wont in this series, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammed Shami plucked wickets upfront. Bhuvi dismissed Martin Guptill while Shami accounted for Colin Munro as the Kiwis openers struggled to make an impact. Even while Ross Taylor and Tom Latham were involved in a century stand for the fourth wicket, the Indian bowlers did not lose the heart. They maintained a good line and length to make sure that the Kiwis' batsmen did not have a free run. Once the partnership was broken, the Indian bowlers picked up regular wickets to check the run flow and eventually the home side settled for a below par total.

4. Hardik Pandya's return

The last couple of weeks might have been one of the toughest in the life of Pandya. He and KL Rahul were send home from Australia for making sexist remarks a TV Show - Koffee With Karan. And he was able to join the team only because the CoA lifted the ban pending the appointment of an ombudsman. As such, there might have been some doubts over Pandya's mental readiness for this match. But he dispelled all the doubts by taking a lovely catch off Yuzvendra Chahl to dismiss Kane Williamson. With the ball too, Chahal chipped in with two wickets - Henry Nicholls and Mitchell Santner. It was a terrific return by any standards.