New Zealand badly wanted to do well in a do or die contest to stay in contention for the T20I series. Their quest to seek for solutions came out well as they batted exceptionally well.
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Kiwis put on a colossal 196/2 in their quota of overs. India failed to chase the target as they lost by 40 runs. The hosts were cornered by Kiwis’ all-round bowling attack leaving the deciding T20I match in thrills.
Let’s take a look at player ratings:
New Zealand innings:
#1. Martin Guptill – 7/10
Martin Guptill gave the kind of start what the team required. His 41-ball 45 with 3 fours and 3 sixes was helpful at the top.
#2. Colin Munro – 9.5/10
Colin Munro was the clear-cut man of the match for his blistering 58-ball 109 runs with as many as 7 fours and 7 sixes. He single-handedly ripped the Indian bowlers apart.
#3. Kane Williamson – 3/10
The skipper made a 9-ball 12. He was far from being impressive.
#4. Tom Bruce – 7/10
Having got limited chances in the fag end of the overs, he scooped a 12-ball 18 including 2 fours to make sure things well.
#5. Glenn Philips – nil/10
Glenn Philips did not get a chance to play.
#6. Henry Nicholls – nil/10
Henry was expected to play a part in the batting part but did not get a chance, as the top order made use of the chances to good effect.
#7. Colin de Grandhomme: 2/10
Colin de Grandhomme bowled only one over but was too expensive who gave away 10 runs.
#8. Mitchell Santner – 7/10
Mitchell Santner, as usual, maintained his good bowling variations. He picked a wicket to his name with an economy of over 7 runs.
#9. Adam Milne – 7.5/10
Though Milne did not get any wicket, he was the best economical. In the shortest format, you need to bowl more dot balls as that would do a world of good.
#10. Ish Sodhi – 8/10
Maintaining an economy over 6 an over with an important wicket of Hardik Pandya, Ish Sodhi was quite fantastic.
#11. Trent Boult – 9/10
All important pacer Trent Boult was responsible for giving his team a crucial breakthrough by removing two openers Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma early on. This gave the team a chance to slow down India’s pace in the run chase.
India innings:
#1. Shikhar Dhawan – 1/10
Dhawan was the man of the match in the previous match but this time was beaten all ends up by Trent Boult early on.
#2. Rohit Sharma – 1/10
Rohit Sharma who had a good match failed to add flesh to the cards this time after that one good four.
#3. Shreyas Iyer – 6/10
What a fantastic way to announce the arrival in style. His fabulous shots were an absolute treat to watch. He scored a 21-ball 23 with as many as 4 fours.
#4. Virat Kohli – 8/10
Virat Kohli looked prime even today as well. He just ran out of partners at the other end. Other than that, he played nicely. He got to his 18th half-century and went on to make 42-ball 65 with 8 fours and a six.
#5. Hardik Pandya – 1/10
Hardik Pandya’s poor form continues to put him on the back foot again. He needs to address the woes before it is too late.
#6. MS Dhoni – 7/10
MS Dhoni took time to settle down but just got good when he kept going. When the pressure was on totally and with fewer balls in hand, he did his best to make 49.
#7. Axar Patel – 1/10
Axar Patel had an off-day with the ball giving away 39 runs in 3 overs with an economy of over 9 runs.
#8. Bhuvneshwar Kumar – 6/10
No wickets but maintained an economy of over 7 runs which was quite decent even when the Indians were thrashed by the Kiwis’ batsmen.
#9. Jasprit Bumrah – 7/10
Known for the knack for his incredible death bowling, he was quite economical. He didn’t pick any wickets but maintained an economy of over 5.75 which was good.
#10. Yuzvendra Chahal – 5/10
Chahal went around 9 an over to his tally of spell. He took a wicket to his name.
#11. Mohammed Siraj – 6/10
He was a tad nervous at the start but was quite good when he got going. Though he gave away runs and was expensive, he got his wicket in his debut match.
