Rain washes out third ODI at Seddon Park, India’s series win delayed
Rain forced the abandonment of the third ODI between India and New Zealand at Seddon Park in Hamilton on Tuesday after the toss, leaving India still two wins from clinching the five-match series.
The match had been reduced to 40 overs per side following the toss, which Shubman Gill won for the third consecutive time and chose to bowl, but persistent showers prevented any play and the umpires called the game off without a ball being bowled. India retained the same playing XI for the fixture, while New Zealand made one change, bringing Matt Fisher in for Blair Tickner.
The washout leaves India 2-0 up in the series after victories in the first two ODIs were decided by the DLS method. The first ODI in Auckland was cut to 32 overs per side, with India chasing a revised target of 143 to win by five wickets; the second in Wellington was also shortened, India winning by four runs on DLS after being 113 for seven in a chase of 135.
Groundstaff prepared the playing area during a brief window of drier weather, but another spell of rain ended hopes of a start. Weather will remain a factor as the series progresses: the forecast for the fourth ODI on Friday is described as mostly sunny with only a minimal chance of rain, while conditions for Sunday’s finale show a 55 per cent chance of precipitation and cloudy skies; the forecast could change closer to the matches.
India will make leadership and squad changes for the last two ODIs, with Shubman Gill and KL Rahul leaving the ODI group to join Test preparations and Shreyas Iyer appointed captain and Ishan Kishan named vice-captain. Tilak Varma, Kumar Kushagra, Auqib Nabi and Yash Thakur are among the players included for the final two matches, while Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli remain available.
New Zealand will also alter their group as several players move across to the red-ball squad: Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Henry Nicholls, Glenn Phillips and Nathan Smith are among those switching formats. Finn Allen, Lockie Ferguson and Tim Seifert are part of the group coming in for the concluding ODIs, alongside Kristian Clarke, Matt Fisher, Mitch Hay and Nick Kelly.
New Zealand enter the final phase defending a strong home record, having won their last 11 bilateral ODI series at home, with their previous home-series defeat coming against India in 2019; to level this series the hosts must win both remaining matches, while India need one victory to secure the series and a boost for their 2027 World Cup preparations.
The series now moves to Mount Maunganui, with the fourth ODI scheduled for November 13 and the fifth for November 15 at Bay Oval.
