The visitors fought back remarkably with the ball while defending a moderate total of 209, and clinched the series victory in New Zealand. Arshdeep Singh was the chief architect, picking up three for 30 in his 10 overs, while Mohammed Siraj returned 2-50 before Axar Patel finished things off with a brace.

Earlier in the match, the Indian batting unit struggled to cope with the conditions yet again, with Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Ruturaj Gaikwad walking back inside nine overs. Axar (46 off 55) and Ishan Kishan (46 off 58) were the only batters to cross the 25-run mark, and their contributions were enough to get the team to a defendable total.

Matt Henry was rested from this game but that was in no way a respite for the visitors with Jacob Duffy (3-60) and Matthew Fisher (2-28) doing the damage. Mitchell Santner also took three for 47 from his full quota of overs.

India played the last two ODIs of this series without several key players, including captain Shubman Gill and KL Rahul, while Jasprit Bumrah was rested for the whole series. Winning the assignment without these players once again highlights their bench strength.

ICC men's ODI team rankings: Updated table after NZ vs IND ODIs

Both India and New Zealand held on to their first and second spots, respectively, on the ICC men's ODI team rankings. However, India gained one rating point after winning the series while NZ lost one, with the difference between them now reading nine.