India vs New Zealand, 2017: 5 talking points

The ODI series started in Mumbai where the Kiwis beat India by 33 runs, but India fought back to clinch the series 2-1. Virat Kohli was the highest run-scorer while Bumrah and Southee finished as the top wicket-takers.

The T20I series started with a win for India, but New Zealand leveled the series at Rajkot. Thiruvananthapuram hosted the decider that was, once again, a close affair but the Indians held their nerve to take the series 2-1. Colin Munro and Trent Boult finished as the leading batsman and bowler respectively in the T20Is.

Let's look at the five talking points from New Zealand's tour of India.

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#5 The struggles of Rohit and Dhawan continued

Rohit and Dhawan played brilliantly at Delhi in the first T20I

Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan opened the batting for India in both the formats. Throughout the series, they had trouble against the swing of Trent Boult and Tim Southee.

In the first ODI, Boult dismissed Rohit and Dhawan cheaply. Rohit fell cheaply again in the second, but Dhawan scored a gritty 68.

In the third ODI, Dhawan fell cheaply but, for the first time in the series, Rohit negotiated the swing of Boult and Southee to score a brilliant 100.

In the first T20I, Dhawan and Rohit both notched match-winning scores of 80, but Boult and Southee got the better of them in the next two matches.

This was definitely not a good series for the Indian openers. With the tour of South Africa coming up in January 2018, they need to revisit their strategies.

#4 Latham played brilliantly against spin

Latham swept his way to a brilliant 100 in the first ODI

Tackling Indian spinners has always been a tough task for touring batsmen, but New Zealand clearly had a strategy in mind when it prepared for this ODI series.

Opening batsman Tom Latham was made to play in the middle order because of his ability to play well against spin. He scored a match-winning 100 in the first ODI and followed it up with a 38 and 65 to finish as the second highest run-scorer of the series.

His heroics would have won the Kiwis the series if not for Jasprit Bumrah's brilliant efforts in the third ODI. Latham was very impressive against Chahal, Kuldeep, and Axar, and used the sweep shot to maximum effect.

#3 Dhoni's finishing ability was questioned

MSD failed to impress against the Kiwis

M. S. Dhoni's place in the team was once again questioned in the New Zealand series. In the first ODI at Mumbai, Dhoni scored 25 at a strike rate of 59.5, and India finished the innings with 280. New Zealand chased it comfortably with a 100 each from Ross Taylor and Tom Latham.

Again in the second T20I, Dhoni played a sub-standard knock, chasing a target of 197 runs. It has been argued that Dhoni's batting slowed down the innings and did not allow Virat Kohli to play freely.

He may not be as ruthless as he once was, but Dhoni still has a role to play in ODIs because he brings solidity to the young, aggressive batting line up. However, his T20I spot is under threat and India should consider trying out Rishabh Pant in his place.

#2 Guptill disappointed, Munro impressed

A disappointing series by Guptill's standards

A lot was expected of Martin Guptill but he did not live up to these expectations. His highest score in the series was 45 and he did not manage a single 50. He had his troubles against the Indian bowlers, especially Yuzvendra Chahal who got him out twice in the T20Is.

Colin Munro, however, had an impressive tour. New Zealand's experiment to open the batting with him worked wonders for them. He scored a match-winning 100 in the second T20I game and was good against spin too.

#1 Jasprit Bumrah impressed

Bumrah in action against New Zealand

The story of Jasprit Bumrah's rise to stardom is phenomenal. He has been the most consistent Indian bowler over the last 12 months, and was brilliant once again in this series.

He clinched the ODI series for India with a stunning last over in the third match at Kanpur. He also helped India wrap up the T20I series with a brilliant penultimate over at Thiruvananthapuram.

He finished as the highest wicket-taker in the ODI series with six wickets from five games along with Tim Southee. His economy in the T20Is was a staggering 6.90.