ODI series: How Mitchell & Co cracked the Indian code at their backyard

If the Indian fans thought that the Rajkot defeat in the second ODI was a wake-up call, they were in for a rude jolt. Armed with a meticulous plan, the below-strength Kiwis found a way to crack the Indian code to follow up on their 3-0 whitewash in the Test series here in 2024 to show that the Men in Blue were beatable in this format at home.

Less than a week back, the wily Ravi Ashwin had sounded an alarm on his YouTube channel about how the Kiwis always appeared to be an analytically driven side – which explains their impressive track record in the Indian sub-continent. “A lot of the top teams aren’t very analytically driven. New Zealand is a very analytically driven side. I hope to sit down with them and observe their planning; I am even willing to pay money for it if needed. The way they execute their plans, I would pay to sit in their team meetings to understand how they go about it,” the decorated off spinner, one of the best cricketing minds himself, said.

The series decider at Indore again showed why – though it would not have been possible but for the gamechanging partnership between Daryl Mitchell, the nemesis for India, and the spunky Glenn Phillips. Neither of them may have the grace or class of a Kane Williamson, but their plan to neutralise the Indian spinners, especially dangerman Kuldeep Yadav, and understanding of Indian conditions paved the way for their first-ever ODI series win in India after seven defeats.

The shaven headed Mitchell, the obvious choice for Player of the Series, had been often a thorn in the flesh for India. During the 2023 ICC World Cup, he showed the wherewithal with two centuries in both games against the hosts – a league game in Dharamsala and then in the high pressure semi-final in Mumbai. On both occasions, the Black Caps had finished on the losing side but it turned out to be a different story in this bilateral series where they bounced back after a close defeat at Vadodara to finish as winners against a full-strength Indian team - barring Jasprit Bumrah.

What was Mitchell’s gameplan behind rustling up a superhuman aggregate of 352 runs from three innings with an average of 176.00? The sequence runs as follows: 84, 131 not out and 137 with both centuries working to the team cause – while the first one in Rajkot stuck to a ‘Virat Kohli model’ of chasing, the one on Sunday was an exhibition of troubleshooting in Indore during which he found an able ally in Phillips.

Now 34, the middle order batter – who has crawled upto No.2 in ICC ODI rankings – comes in at the critical number four position and had been sticking to the basics of gauging the conditions, accelerating and more importantly, trying to bat deep into their innings. It could be the collective inputs of Kiwi think tank about countering the conditions - which sees Mitchell tackling the sluggish Indian surfaces by looking for gaps for singles and twos and building long and partnership-driven innings.

It’s not everyday that an overseas batter shows the gall to attack Kuldeep in the middle overs, but this was precisely the ploy Mitchell employed with decisive footwork - hitting the spinners over the cow corner. The way he used the sweep and the reverse sweep to disrupt the length of the Indian spinners is a key tool in his armoury – which should get Gautam Gambhir & Co worried in their run-up to the 2027 World Cup.

The aftermath of the ODI series loss has already set off the trolls on the head coach and his squad selection, but these three matches actually were a collective failure rather than anything else. It’s better to accept that the Kiwis have outwitted the Indians, who rely on individual brilliance (the Virat Kohli ton was overshadowed for a change) rather than a cohesive plan, discipline and execution. Much like the way the Proteas had turned the tables in end-2025 in the Test series.

And that is not good news for Indian cricket – one can’t be resting on T20 supremacy alone and fancy themselves as a great side!