India seal second consecutive T20I series against New Zealand in the latter’s backyard

Cricket has stayed witness to crazy scenes before and yesterday was just one of those days where out of all the chaos that could have possibly transpired, an intense bout of cricketing action met an unexpected end as the rain gods came out to play.

The surprising factor of the night was that even albeit the Duckworth-Lewis method being summoned to find a winner, it became apparent that by the time the heavens cracked open, India was exactly stationed at par with New Zealand. Hence, even a rain-curtailed encounter that was being compelled to be called off saw no winner with India sealing a second consecutive T20I series against New Zealand in the latter’s backyard.

Opting to bat first, New Zealand was dealt an early double whammy as Arshdeep Singh and Mohammed Siraj removed Finn Allen and Mark Chapman with the hosts stuttering at 44 for 2. Despite the early blows, two seasoned campaigners in Glenn Phillips and Devon Conway took over the reins and steered the Kiwi ship comfortably.

Stationed at 130 for the loss of 2 from 15.4 overs and with two set batters at the crease, it was obvious that New Zealand was going for the kill. However, in a shocking turn of events, Mohammed Siraj returned for a second spell and produced the mishit from Glenn Phillips, a scalp that pushed the hosts into a whirlwind of chaos as India swarmed over. New Zealand lost their last 8 wickets in a span of 30 runs that allowed the Men in Blue to reel things back in, courtesy of Mohammed Siraj’s magical figures that read 4 for 17.

Despite a fiery start in the first couple of overs, India was jolted to a rude awakening as Ishan Kishan, Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer were once again back to the pavilion early. The onus of steering India to safety fell on two of India’s finest, Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya.

If the second T20I saw Surya dealing the majority of the dent, this time it was the Indian captain who dictated the narrative while Surya motored along. Despite the fall of SKY for a cheap 13, Deepak Hooda dropped anchor at the other end and seemed to be in control of the proceedings while Hardik flexed his muscles before the heavens cracked open and the umpires were forced to stop the game.

It took them some time to make that unwanted call but it came eventually nonetheless and as mentioned above, after the DL method was invoked, both sides found themselves at par with each other, thereby imparting a whimpering end to the T20I series instead of the barnstorming bang that the cricket fans were so eagerly waiting for.