5 players who lit up the India - New Zealand ODI series

#5 Tim Southee

Southee’s bowling is what allowed New Zealand to win two ODIs

His stats in this series - 7 scalps at about 37 runs per wicket and 77 runs at an average of 19.25 – may not sound exceptional. But, from the Kiwi perspective, Tim Southee was a notable performer who delivered crucial contributions every time they needed him to.

He notched up his first ODI fifty in the opening match at Dharamsala – a brisk 55 in his 100th ODI – at a time when the Kiwis were in deep trouble and required someone to not only stay with the stubborn Latham but also pile on enough runs to give themselves a respectable score to defend.

With the ball, he contributed heavily in both the matches that New Zealand won. In the second ODI at the Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi, Southee picked 3 wickets, including a brilliant catch off his own bowling to send back a well-set Dhoni, who was looking to take the game to safety after a batting collapse.

At Ranchi, he picked Rohit Sharma early in the innings and also came back later to dismiss Manish Pandey and Kedhar Jadhav off successive deliveries, a performance for which he was declared the Jana Bankable Player.

His bowling partnerships with Trent Boult with the new ball denied India good starts from Rohit and Rahane, both of whom had a disappointing series.