India was bowled out for 209 runs in 42.1 overs during the fifth one-day international against New Zealand at Bay Oval on Sunday.
New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner won the toss and elected to bowl first in Mount Maunganui, according to “Yahoo Sports”.
The visiting side struggled early after losing Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Ruturaj Gaikwad inside the first 10 overs, as reported by “Yahoo Sports”.
Axar Patel also departed before reaching a crucial half-century, while Shreyas Iyer was dismissed cheaply during the innings.
India entered the final match leading the five-game series 2-1 after the third fixture was abandoned due to rain.
New Zealand previously bounced back in the fourth ODI by thrashing India by 244 runs at the exact same venue.
During that fourth match, Shreyas Iyer captained India for the first time in the format as the team was bundled out for just 89 runs.
Following that heavy defeat, head coach Gautam Gambhir expressed concern over the batting collapse under World Cup-like conditions, per “Cricket News”.
The Black Caps deployed a playing lineup featuring Will Young, Tim Seifert, Nick Kelly, Dean Foxcroft, Finn Allen, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner, Kristian Clarke, Blair Tickner, Matt Fisher, and Jacob Duffy.
India’s batting order for the fixture featured Rohit Sharma, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan, Naman Dhir, Axar Patel, Auqib Nabi, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, and Yash Thakur.
Before the start of the final match, pre-match win probability metrics favored the visiting side at 55 percent compared to 45 percent for the hosts, according to “Yahoo Sports”.
The local weather forecast indicated a rain chance under 47 percent when the match began at 3:00 PM local time.
Match officials for the contest included on-field umpires Paul Reiffel and Wayne Knights, alongside third umpire Kumar Dharmasena.
Chris Brown served as the reserve umpire while Ranjan Madugalle officiated as the match referee.
Live television broadcasts in India were made available via Sony Sports Network and SonyLIV, while Sky Sport carried the coverage in New Zealand.