India ‘beat’ Kiwis in T20 shootout, win series 2-1
Hosts win by 6 runs New Zealand vs India Scoreboard
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, India, Nov 7, (AP): India beat New Zealand by six runs in a thrilling finish to win the third Twenty20 on Tuesday.
Chasing 68 in a series decider reduced by rain to eight overs per side, the Black Caps were restricted to 61-6.
India finished at 67-5 and won the three-match series 2-1, its first victory in a bilateral engagement in this format over New Zealand. THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, India, Nov 7, (AFP): Scorecard from the T20 international between India and New Zealand in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday, reduced to eight overs a side because of rain:
INDIA R. Sharma c Santner b Southee ............................... 8 S. Dhawan c Santner b Southee ............................... 8 V. Kohli c Boult b Sodhi .......................................... 13 S. Iyer c Guptill by Sodhi ........................................... 6 M. Pandey c de Grandhomme b Boult .................... 17 H. Pandya not out ................................................... 14 M.S. Dhoni not out .................................................... 0 Extras (lb 2, w1) ........................................................ 3 Total (8 overs — five wickets) ................................. 67 Did not bat: B. Kumar, J. Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Y. Chahal Fall of wickets: 1-15, 2-15, 3-30, 4-48, 5-62 Bowling: Boult 2-0-13-1, Santner 2-0-16-0, Southee 2-0-13-2, Sodhi 2-0-23-2
have given us a good fight. So we were nervous to bat first here on a damp pitch. But it was a challenging score and we thought it was not going to be easy with a NEW ZEALAND M. Guptill b Kumar .................................................... 1 C.MunrocSharmabBumrah .................................. 7 K.Williamsonrunout ................................................ 8 G. Phillips c Shikhar b Kuldeep ............................... 11 C. de Grandhomme not out ..................................... 17 H.NichollscIyerbBumrah ...................................... 2 T. Bruce run out ........................................................ 4 M. Santner not out ..................................................... 3 Extras (b4, lb1, w3) ................................................... 8 Total (8 overs — 6 wickets) .................................... 61 Did not bat: T. Boult, T. Southee, I. Sodhi Fall: 1-8, 2-8, 3-28, 4-28, 5-39, 6-48 Bowling: Kumar 2-0-18-1, Bumrah 2-0-9-2, Chahal 2-0-8-0, Kuldeep Yadav 1-0-10-1, Pandya 1-0-11-0 Umpires: Anil Chaudhary/Nitin Menon (IND) Match referee: Chris Broad (Eng) India win series 2-1
high asking rate.”
So it proved. New Zealand, too, lost openers Martin Guptill (1) and Colin Munro (7) cheaply, bowled by Bhuvneshwar Kumar
(1-18) and caught in the deep off Jasprit Bumrah (2-9) respectively.
“Slower deliveries were gripping as we saw in the first innings,” Bumrah, the top-ranked T20 bowler, said. “So that was the basic plan. We mixed them well with yorkers.”
Pandya ran out Kane Williamson (8) with a direct hit, and Glen Phillips (11) holed out off Kuldeep Yadav (1-10) on the very next ball as the Black Caps were reduced to 28-4.
The wickets of Henry Nicholls (2) and Tom Bruce (4) put the Black Caps in bad shape at 49-6.
Nineteen runs were needed off the last over with Colin de Grandhomme (17 not out) and Mitchell Santner (3 not out) at the crease. But Pandya (0-11) bowled a tight line.
“It’s quite hard to know a good first innings score in this situation,” Williamson said. “Runs on board on a tricky surface came in handy for India.
We showed good fight throughout this tour. It is a tough place to play and there have been a number of strides forward for us.”
India next has a three-test series against Sri Lanka, beginning in Kolkata on Nov 16.
New Zealand hosts the West Indies in a two-test series, starting in Wellington on Dec. 1.