Seifert stars as New Zealand inflict India’s worst T20 defeat
It was one of those complete performances that you do search for: Kane
WELLINGTON: India crashed to their worst ever Twenty20 defeat as an aggressive 84 by Tim Seifert set New Zealand up for an 80-run win in Wellington yesterday. “It was one of those complete performances that you do search for,” beamed New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson, happy to see his side bounce back from the drubbing inflicted by India in the recent one-day international series.
The explosive 86-run opening partnership off 50 deliveries by Seifert and Colin Munro laid the foundations for New Zealand to build their third highest T20 total of 219-6. India were all out in reply for 139 with four balls remaining, in only the eighth time they have failed to bat through a 20-over innings.
Their previous worst defeat was by 49 runs to Australia at Bridgetown in 2010. India captain Rohit Sharma could not hide his disappointment, having elected to bowl when he won the toss because chasing a target is his side’s strong suit.
“We were outplayed in all three departments,” he said. “We have chased targets of 200 (plus) before and that’s probably the reason we played with eight batsmen. “As a team we have always chased down targets and we believe that whatever target is set in front of us we can do it.
He added: “We were confident of getting that target. It’s a small ground. We just needed that one big partnership which we failed to do.” Seifert, whose previous best innings in eight T20 internationals was an unbeaten 14 on debut, gave New Zealand a flying start alongside Munro, who fell for 34 off 20.
Seifert had a life on 71 when dropped on the boundary by Dinesh Karthik and added a further 13 runs before he was bowled by Khaleel Ahmed. His 43ball innings included seven fours and six sixes.
Williamson added 34 to the New Zealand cause and there were enterprising cameos late in the innings from Ross Taylor with 23 off 14 and an unbeaten 20 from
CAPITALS 3, CANUCKS 2
T.J. Oshie, Brett Connolly and Jakub Vrana each scored a goal as Washington edged visiting Vancouver. Washington, trying to rebound from a seven-game losing streak, has now won two of its past three games. The Canucks lost for the second consecutive night, receiving goals from Markus Granlund and Elias Pettersson. There were a few emotional moments early when the Capitals played a video tribute to faceoff specialist Jay Beagle, now with Vancouver, who helped Washington win the Stanley Cup last spring. Beagle played 10 years with the Capitals.
CANADIENS 4, DUCKS 1
Brendan Gallagher had two goals and an assist, and host Montreal cruised past struggling Anaheim. Jonathan Drouin matched his career high with three assists, Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Phillip Danault also scored goals and Carey Price made 24 saves for the Canadiens, who improved to 7-1-1 since Jan 12. Ryan Getzlaf scored for the Ducks, who have been outscored 27-6 in their five-game losing streak. Chad Johnson made 28 saves for Anaheim.
PREDATORS 5, COYOTES 2
Roman Josi collected a goal and two assists as host Nashville skated to victory over Arizona. Ryan Ellis and Calle Jarnkrok each scored and set up a goal, and Filip Forsberg ended Nashville’s pronounced power-play drought to highlight his team’s three-goal second period. The Predators entered the game mired in an 0-for-31 skid on the power play. Vinnie Hinostroza scored his fifth goal in six contests, and Derek Stepan also tallied for the Coyotes, who have dropped four in a row to conclude their six-game road trip with a 2-3-1 mark. Calvin Pickard turned aside 42 shots in the loss.
SHARKS 3, JETS 2 (OT)
Joe Pavelski scored the game-winning goal while seven deliveries by Scott Kuggeleijn. Faced with batting at 11 an over, India faltered from the start when Sharma went for one.
Shikhar Dhawan blazed a quick 29 until he was bowled by Lockie Ferguson and his dismissal ignited a collapse of five wickets for 26 runs in 33 deliveries. MS Dhoni and Krunal Pandya arrested the slide with a short-handed as San Jose twice erased deficits en route to an overtime victory at Winnipeg. While the Sharks were down a man for the second time during the overtime period, Pavelski took a feed from Brent Burns during a two-on-one rush and buried his 29th goal of the season at 2:49 of the extra frame. The Sharks, who have won three straight, got 25 saves from goalie Martin Jones in a back-and-forth game. Connor Hellebuyck made 35 saves, 15 of them in the third period, for the Jets, who couldn’t find a win on a night their head coach, Paul Maurice, was behind the bench for his 1,500th game.
KINGS 5, DEVILS 1
Tyler Toffoli scored a pair of goals 35 seconds apart as visiting Los Angeles opened the third period with a flurry of scoring to down New Jersey. Ilya Kovalchuk, who was booed heavily, also scored a third-period goal in his return to New Jersey. Kovalchuk played four seasons with the Devils before “retiring” from the NHL following the 2012-13 season in order to play again in his native Russia. Kovalchuk returned to the NHL this season. The Kings scored three goals in the first 1:52 of the third period, with both of Toffoli’s goals coming in the opening 1:07. Dion Phaneuf also got into the mix, with his first goal of the season less than two minutes after the second intermission.
BLUES 3, PANTHERS 2
St. Louis rallied from a two-goal, third-period deficit to claim victory over Florida at Sunrise, Fla. Vince Dunn scored the go-ahead goal with 3:53 left in the third period, clanging his shot in off the left post. Colton Parayko and Ryan O’Reilly also scored for the Blues, and backup goalie Jordan Binnington made 22 saves to earn his third straight win. Rookie Henrik Borgstrom and captain Aleksander Barkov scored for the Panthers, both on the power play. Backup goalie James Reimer took the loss, making 31 saves. — Reuters 52-run partnership before the last three wickets fell for 10 runs.
Tim Southee, who was dropped for the last three ODIs against India, marked his return to the side with three for 17 off his four overs. The second T20 in the three-match series is in Auckland on Friday. India won the preceding ODI series 4-1. —AFP