Indian batters dictate show against New Zealand to pocket T20I series

It was another merciless show of power-hitting from the Indian batters as they blasted through New Zealand to pocket the T20I series with a couple of games to spare. The bowlers started the game on a feisty note and laid the brickwork. A storm from the word ‘go’ saw the Indian batters making light work of the total on the board as they secured the win with 10 overs to spare.

Winning the toss, India opted to bowl first. A double whammy in the first two overs disambiguated India’s intent. Harshit Rana claimed Devon Conway (1) while Hardik Pandya chimed in with the scalp of Rachin Ravindra (4), reducing the visitors to 13/2.

Things only looked to be shaky from thereon for the Blackcaps as the Indian bowlers kept on chipping away at the wickets. Glenn Phillips (48) and Mark Chapman (32) steadied the Kiwi ship for a while but it still wasn’t enough to keep the hosts at bay. Ravi Bishnoi broke the crucial fourth wicket stand between Chapman and Phillips, removing the former.

Hardik Pandya stepped up again to get the better of Daryll Mitchell (14) while Bishnoi added another one to his tally as Phillips fell in quick succession, reducing New Zealand to 112/6.

Jasprit Bumrah’s late charge saw him finishing with figures of 3/17 as the visitors could only rack up 153/9 at the end of their 20 overs. Bumrah had decent support from Pandya and Bishnoi as the duo plundered four wickets between them.

Chasing 156 shouldn’t have been a hard ask for the Indians but to their surprise, Sanju Samson fell first ball. Matt Henry cleaned him up, leaving the Indian fans stunned. However, things spiralled out of control for the Blackcaps. Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan precipitated a storm like never before.

The duo added 53 from just 19 balls, before Ishan Kishan fell for 28 off 13, banging three fours and two sixes. It was Suryakumar Yadav who joined Abhishek in the center and the ball kept on going out of the boundary ropes, way too frequently. Eight sixes were struck collectively by Sharma and Yadav while 13 fours accompanied them.

Abhishek Sharma stayed unbeaten for 68 from just 20 balls while SKY blasted 57 from 26 balls to propel India to the finish line within just 10 overs. India secured a win by eight wickets while Jasprit Bumrah bagged the Player of the Match award for his incredible performance with the ball.