IND vs NZ: KL Rahul scores 4th ODI hundred, equals rare Suresh Raina record in New Zealand

Indian batsman KL Rahul continued his fine form as he recorded his fourth One-Day International (ODI) hundred on Tuesday.

Rahul's century boosted India to 296 for 7 in 50 overs during their third ODI against New Zealand in Mount Maunganui's Bay Oval.

The wicketkeeper-batsman contributed with 112 runs from 113 balls and the knock brought him on par with Suresh Raina. Rahul became only the second Indian batsman after Raina (vs Zimbabwe, 2015) to score a hundred while batting at No. 5 or lower in New Zealand.

After missing centuries in recent home series against Australia and the opening ODI against New Zealand where Rahul was unbeaten on 88, he finally touched the three-digit mark on Tuesday. His previous ODI hundred came in December when he scored 104-ball 102 against West Indies at home.

Even though India have lost the ongoing three-match ODI series against New Zealand, they have a positive takeaway in the form of Rahul and Shreyas Iyer - who are on the top of the runs chart this series. So far, Iyer is on the top with 217 runs at 72.33 ahead of Rahul (204) and Kiwis senior player Ross Taylor, who is yet to bat on Tuesday. Only these three have scored a century this series.

Taylor, who has scored 182 in two innings, is yet to bat on Tuesday. If he once again plays well, he can well surpass the Indian pair to end the series with most runs.

Meanwhile, the World No. 1 ODI batsman Virat Kohli had a forgettable series having scored only 75 runs in three matches. Kohli's tally of runs is his lowest as India's captain, even worse than the 89 and 148 runs he had recorded against West Indies and New Zealand in 2019 and 2018 respectively. The No. 3 batsman also ended the series averaging 25 – his lowest since the 16.33 he had averaged in 2015 in a series against Bangladesh.

Earlier, New Zealand won the toss and put India to bat. Other than centurion Rahul, only three other batsmen reached double figures in India's innings. Chasing India's target of 297, New Zealand are 109 for 1 in 17 overs. Opening batsman Martin Guptill scored a quick-fire 66 runs from 46 balls before Indian spinner Yuzvendra Chahal sent him back to the dugout in the 17th over.