The India vs New Zealand third ODI at Seddon Park in Hamilton was abandoned on Tuesday without a ball being bowled, after rain that set in on the afternoon before the match refused to lift long enough for play to begin. The washout left India 2-0 ahead in the five-match series with two games still to play, and it meant the hosts could no longer win the series. New Zealand can now only draw it by winning both remaining matches at Mount Maunganui.
India vs New Zealand series stays at 2-0
India won the first ODI in Auckland by five wickets and the second in Wellington by four runs, and the rain in Hamilton denied New Zealand a chance to cut the gap in the India vs New Zealand series. The hosts came into the third match needing a win to keep the series alive, but the weather left them with no result from a day on which the toss was the only formal act completed. The abandonment also ended New Zealand’s run of 11 straight bilateral ODI series wins at home, the second longest such run in the format.
Rain had threatened the India vs New Zealand fixture from the start. Showers fell through the day in Hamilton, and the forecast had pointed to a high chance of rain all day. Ground staff worked through the breaks in the weather, and the surface was in good enough order for play to be considered whenever the rain eased. Each time the covers came off, though, the rain returned before play could begin.
Rain and a brief window for the toss
The toss in the India vs New Zealand third ODI was delayed by more than two hours, and the match was cut to 40 overs a side while officials waited for the weather to clear. Shubman Gill won the toss for the third match in a row and chose to bowl, the same call he had made in the first two games. It was the seventh toss India had won in eight on this tour. Before the interviews at the toss had finished, the rain was back, and it never stayed away long enough for the ground staff to take the covers off again.
Umpires kept the option of a shortened India vs New Zealand game open for as long as they could. A result needed at least 20 overs a side, and the cut-off for that length of game passed with the rain still falling. The match was then called off, with the two sides shaking hands and leaving the field without a ball being bowled. The record books will show the game as abandoned with a toss, since the toss had taken place.
India vs New Zealand 4th ODI moves to Mount Maunganui
The India vs New Zealand series now moves to Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui, which hosts the fourth ODI on Friday, November 13, and the fifth on Sunday, November 15. The forecast for Mount Maunganui is better than the one Hamilton faced, and both sides will expect two full games to finish the series. After the ODIs, the teams begin a two-Test series on November 19. New Zealand need to win both remaining one-day games to draw the series, while India need only avoid defeat in one of them to take it.
The Hamilton game was the last ODI of the India vs New Zealand series for Gill, who now moves to red-ball nets to prepare for the Test series. Shreyas Iyer will captain India in the final two ODIs in Gill’s absence. KL Rahul also played his last match of the one-day series in Hamilton, though he did not get to bat. New Zealand had planned to rest Matt Henry in a similar way, but the fast bowler has been given more time with the national team medical staff after he was hurt in a collision with Devon Conway on the eve of the series.
Gill leaves as Iyer takes charge
The washout also claimed the India A match against New Zealand A, which had been hit by rain the day before. New Zealand’s home summer has been squeezed into the spring to fit a full India tour before the hosts travel to Australia, and the spring weather has been wetter than usual. India were glad to have two completed games in the bank before Hamilton, even though both were cut short. The India vs New Zealand series will be decided in Mount Maunganui, where the weather, for once, looks ready to cooperate.