India vs New Zealand: Rohit Sharma praises India's bowling efforts post series win

Kanpur: Rohit Sharma, who smashed a brilliant century to help India clinch the final One-Day International (ODI) of three-match series against New Zealand, credited the team's bowling unit for pulling back the match from the Kiwis and sealing India’s six-run win at Kanpur's Green Park Stadium on Sunday.

With the win, India clinched their seventh consecutive bilateral ODI series.

Sharma, who smashed 147 off 138 balls and scored his 15th ODI hundred, showered praises on Bhuvneshwar Kumar and fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah, who claimed three wickets and affected a crucial run out of Tom Latham.

"It was not easy for the fast bowlers today due to the wet field. The Kiwis needed just 35 runs in four overs which was easy to go for them, but just because of these two (Bumrah and Kumar) we were able to pull back the match," he said.

Further, Sharma called the dismissals of New Zealand’s Colin Munro, Kane Williamson, Latham and Henry Nicholls the turning point of the game.

In the third and final ODI against New Zealand, the brilliant centuries from opener Sharma and skipper Virat Kohli helped India set a huge target of 338 for the Black Caps.

In a pretty close match, the Kiwis, who required 35 runs from the last 24 balls, ended at 331-7 despite Latham's 65 of 52 balls.

Meanwhile, Kohli became the fastest to reach 9000 ODI runs, taking just 194 innings to achieve the feat. He achieved the feat even as he scored his 32nd century here.