Mumbai: India had the series won inside a week and then lost the last two matches anyway. The 3-2 scoreline is flattering to New Zealand and slightly untidy for the visitors, and both are true.
India went 3-0 up in New Zealand, chasing superbly in all three games. The standout was Wellington, where they hunted down 199 in 13.2 overs on the back of a century from Abhishek Sharma. New Zealand took the fourth and fifth matches, but the series was already decided.
The find of the tour was Naman Dhir. The 26-year-old all-rounder, who debuted only last month, was named impact player of the series after making 138 runs at a strike rate of 200 across the five games. He announced himself in Christchurch with an unbeaten 42 off 15 balls in a chase of 226, followed it with 31 off 17, and hit the winning boundary in the third match.
"The one who stepped up and took responsibility for the team. A stellar maiden overseas tour, capped off with the Impact Player of the Series medal for Naman Dhir," the BCCI wrote while posting the dressing-room presentation, where strength and conditioning coach Adrian Le Roux handed over the medal.
Dhir's own verdict was modest. "First of all, thank you Adrian for giving me this medal. I really enjoyed it, especially it is quite satisfying that we won the overseas series. It's my first overseas tour and I'm getting this medal," he said.
Coach Gautam Gambhir's message to the squad was about the month ahead. "We know that we don't play enough T20 cricket, and we've got a month off now. So, make sure we stay in shape and prepare well for Sri Lanka," he said, referring to the T20I series in December.
Attention now shifts to the five-match ODI series, which begins in Auckland on November 4 and brings Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli back. Captain Shubman Gill used the eve of the first one-dayer to give an update on Hardik Pandya, who has not played since the IPL and is at the BCCI Centre of Excellence. "He will play some domestic cricket. And hopefully we will get him back in the Indian team soon," Gill said, which points to the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy or the Vijay Hazare Trophy.
Rishabh Pant's fitness is also being watched ahead of the two-Test series from November 19.