India tie game on DLS but take series vs NZ
NEW DELHI: Mohammed Siraj’s career best haul (4/17) and Hardik Pandya’s unbeaten 18-ball 30 ensured India tied the third T20I against New Zealand on DLS in Napier on Tuesday. The result means the visitors, having won their previous game, took the three-match series 1-0. The first match was washed out without a ball being bowled last Friday.
Chasing 161, India lost both openers inside three overs. Ishan Kishan, having copped a blow on his left shoulder while attempting to pull Adam Milne, clattered the bowler for a boundary but was caught at deep midwicket in the same over, trying to go across the line to a back-of-thelength ball.
Tim Southee, leading the Kiwis in the absence of Kane Williamson who missed the game to a ‘medical appointment’, then removed Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer off consecutive balls to put India under pressure. While Pant couldn’t execute the cut properly and ended up getting caught at third man, Iyer was done in by a short ball, fending one to first slip.
In-form Suryakumar Yadav was dismissed early, but not before he added 39 runs in 22 balls with Pandya. India galloped to 50 inside five overs, the sixover powerplay yielding 58 runs. Pandya, perhaps aware of the looming rain threat, was the catalyst. He hit Milne for a brace of boundaries in the fourth over before clubbing Southee to the straight boundary and then pulling him into the stands.
Surya began with a sweetly timed cover drive for four and soon hoisted Lockie Ferguson over the same region for six. In between, he was hurried by a Milne short ball and a leading edge fell short of Ish Sodhi at third man. His luck ran out when he hit Sodhi straight to the deep midwicket fielder but the quickfire partnership with Pandya ensured India were at par with the DLS target at the end of the ninth over when rain made it impossible for play to continue.
Earlier, electing to bat in a rain delayed start, New Zealand went from 130/3 to 160 all out. Siraj did the star turn, hitting the good length spot without caring for the short square boundaries. Generating good pace and zing, he accounted for Mark Chap-* man, Glenn Philips, James Neesham and Mitchell Santner to completely derail the Kiwi innings. “The wicket was not easy to bat on. I preferred to bowl the hard lengths. I was a standby at the T20 World Cup, and was preparing myself to bowl this length,” Siraj told the broadcasters.
The action now shifts to Eden Park in Auckland where a threematch ODI series begins this Friday. India will be led by Shikhar Dhawan.
New Zealand 160 in 19.4 overs (D Conway 59, G Phillips 54; M Siraj 4/17, A Singh 4/37) vs India 75/4 in 9 overs (H Pandya 30*; T Southee 2/27). Match tied on DLS method.