Krunal Pandya and Dinesh Karthik could not quite toe their side over the line with 16 needed off the final over on Sunday, 10 February, after numerous Indian cameos had kept hopes alive for Rohit Sharma’s men. New Zealand’s destructive batting display, headed by an imperious Colin Munro, was in the end the difference between the two sides. It is India’s first T20I series defeat in their last ten efforts. 

The hosts made light of the Indian bowling attack, Hardik Pandya (0/44) and his brother, Krunal (0/54) both emerging with undesirable figures. Munro was the main culprit, blasting a 40-ball 72 from the top of the order with five fours and as many sixes. 

Put in, Munro and Tim Seifert got off to a flyer, striking to all parts, running away to 80 in just the eighth over. The impressive Kuldeep Yadav, though, had the latter stumped with the help of MS Dhoni for a rapid 43 from 25.

Kuldeep helped slow down proceedings somewhat following the Powerplay, and his contribution became more crucial when he had Munro caught on the boundary in the 14th over. But, once he’d bowled his maximum four for an impressive 2/26, the seamers could not rein in their opponents in the last six overs.

Kane Williamson was caught swinging for 27 as Khaleel Ahmed (1/47) picked up his solitary scalp, before Colin de Grandhomme once again showcased his devastating finishing abilities. He followed up his blistering half-century from the second T20I with a 16-ball 30, before departing in the penultimate over, having pushed his side up to the 200-mark.

Ross Taylor (14*) and Daryl Mitchell (19*) then took 19 from the last 10 balls, leaving Sharma’s men requiring a menacing 213.

India’s reply began in poor fashion, Shikhar Dhawan (5) slog-sweeping Mitchell Santner (2/32) to the man at deep mid-wicket in the first over, but Vijay Shankar once again showed his metal for India from No.3, putting on a quick-fire 75 with Sharma before being caught in the deep for 43 from just 28 balls.

Rishabh Pant pumped two of his first three deliveries into the stands, having spanked his first ball for four. Blair Tickner (1/34), the 25-year-old seamer who looked handy on debut, then picked up his first wicket in international cricket, quelling Pant’s (28) threat early by having him caught in the leg-side infield.

New Zealand’s squeeze then hit full flow, as stalwart Sharma edged off to Mitchell for a reasonably measured 38, and Scott Kuggeleijn sent Hardik back for 21 after a couple of big hits. Mitchell’s (2/27) second wicket was then arguably as vital as that of Sharma’s, forcing a huge, spooned slog from Dhoni (2) that was snaffled, leaving the away side flailing on 145/6 and requiring a further 68 from 28 balls.

With Karthik the only specialist batter left in the bank, New Zealand could scent series victory. 

However, when Tim Southee went for 18 in the 18th over as Krunal found his flow with the bat, India began to believe. A maximum each for Karthik and Krunal in the 19th then left the tourists with 16 to win from the final over, and the expensive Southee was the man tasked to bowl it.

Unlike his prior offering, Southee (0/47) then found his primed yorker-length with some wicked death bowling, serving up a spectacular contribution to restrict India to five from the first five, before Karthik sent a consolation six into the stands with the last ball when the game was already out of sight for India.

A grand series victory for New Zealand, but it was once again a magnificent display of hitting from both sides.

Colin Munro, Man of the Match: Touch and go there until the final minute. India – you get one good batsman, another one comes along. The boys did a really good job of finishing off the really good Indian batsmen. Didn’t really focus on trying to do anything different, tried to put pressure back on the bowlers. Just came out nice and free, had a bit of luck, which you certainly need in this match.

Tim Seifert, Man of the Series: Great to have a performance like that, but it’s great to get a victory, particularly a last-minute one like that. Great to have batted with Colin Munro. It’s awesome in my hometown, that the crowd have come out in full support – hopefully they do so for the Super Smash final as well.

Rohit Sharma, India captain: Pretty disappointing to not get to the finishing line. 210-odd was always going to be tough, and we were in the game right till the end, but New Zealand held their nerve well and they deserved to win. We started off well in the ODIs, and the boys will be disappointed not getting to the finishing line in the T20s. Lots of positives, and a few mistakes, so there’s a lot of material to move ahead. It would have been nice to win the series and go home and play Australia, but unfortunately we couldn’t do that.

Kane Williamson, New Zealand captain: What a brilliant advertisement for T20 cricket. It’s great to get across the line tonight. It was a fairly short series. The first performance (first T20I) was our best, and there were some learnings in the second one. We knew India would come back strong. For it to go to the last couple of balls with the series on the line, it was a great series to be a part of. We go to the ODIs against Bangladesh – we travel, train and play, so that’s the (hectic) nature of international cricket I suppose.

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When: New Zealand vs India, 3rd T20I, Feb 10, 08:00 PM local time, 12:30 PM IST

Where: Seddon Park, Hamilton

What to expect: Hamilton has tended to assist spinners a bit. In the fourth ODI between India and New Zealand, it also swung for pacers. Barring a couple of T20Is, captains have elected to field in the shortest format.

Team News:

India: The tourists could go in with the same winning combination. Kuldeep Yadav, the left-arm wristspinner, and Shubman Gill are the couple of options to look at.

Probable XI: Rohit Sharma (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Rishabh Pant, Vijay Shankar, MS Dhoni (wk), Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Khaleel Ahmed

New Zealand: Blair Tickner, who was selected for the third game of the series, could come into the equation. The fast bowler bagged 15 scalps at 16.26 in T20s during the 2018-19 domestic season.

Probable XI: Tim Seifert, Colin Munro, Kane Williamson (c), Daryl Mitchell, Ross Taylor, Colin de Grandhomme, Mitchell Santner, Scott Kuggeleijn, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Blair Tickner

What they said

“It’s important that as a side we are aware of the good bits we have done and put that into practice every time we come out to bat” – Kane Williamson reflects on New Zealand’s batting in the second T20I.

“It’s important to understand the mistakes that we made – it’s been a long tour for everyone” – Rohit Sharma praises his side after India bounced back from a 80-run mauling.

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When: Friday, February 8 at 7:00 PM Local Time (11:30 AM IST)

Where: Eden Park, Auckland

What to expect: In the three Super Smash games played at Eden Park this season, 180-plus totals have been achieved four times – hinting at another high-scorer when New Zealand and India face off. Partly cloudy condition with a high of 21 degree Celsius are forecast during the match time.

Team news:

New Zealand: Not opting for both James Neesham and Doug Bracewell for the first game, New Zealand went in with Daryl Mitchell and Colin de Grandhomme as the all-round choices. However, both failed to make any substantial contribution with the bat which might force the management to look at Neesham and Bracewell for the second game.

India: The visitors had six bowling options in the first T20I but they used only five, not opting for Vijay Shankar with the ball. The Tamil Nadu all-rounder, however, came up with a promising knock with the bat and could be persisted with for the second match. Meanwhile, both Dinesh Karthik and Rishabh Pant failed with the bat, Hardik Pandya was a let-down with both bat and ball, while Khaleel Ahmed and Bhuvnenshwar Kumar had expensive figures. Should they look at reinforcements, India have plenty of replacement options in Mohammed Siraj, Shubman Gill, Siddarth Kaul, Kedar Jadhav and Kuldeep Yadav, who all warmed the bench during the first game.

Did you know?

– New Zealand are the only team against whom India have more losses than wins in T20Is. They have won only two of the nine matches played against the Blackcaps.

– The last time India lost a T20I series (min. two matches) was against the Windies in Florida in August 2016.

– Rohit Sharma needs one more fifty-plus score to go past Virat Kohli as the player with most fifty-plus scores in T20Is. Both are tied with 19 such scores.

– Rohit Sharma needs two more sixes to reach the milestone of 100 sixes in T20Is. Chris Gayle and Martin Guptill currently top this list with 103 sixes apiece.

What they said:

“The White Ferns game was a fantastic one, it ebbed and flowed all through. We have copied each other through the series and hopefully they can beat them in the next game and we’ll carry it forward” – Kane Williamson is hoping for another double success for New Zealand.

Squads:

New Zealand: Kane Williamson (c), Doug Bracewell, Colin de Grandhomme, Lockie Ferguson, Scott Kuggeleijn, Colin Munro, Daryl Mitchell, Mitchell Santner, Tim Seifert (wk), Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Blair Tickner, James Neesham

India: Rohit Sharma (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Rishabh Pant, Dinesh Karthik, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni (wk), Krunal Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Siddarth Kaul, K Khaleel Ahmed, Shubman Gill, Vijay Shankar, Hardik Pandya, Mohammed Siraj

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After being downed in the one-dayers, New Zealand will look to hit back hard in the first T20 international which will be played at the same venue.

The opening game of the three-match T20I series will be played on February 6 with live telecast scheduled to begin at 8 PM local time

NZ vs IND, 1st T20: Where to Watch/Live Streaming

TV channels: Star Sports, Sky Sports Cricket, Fox Sports, Sky Sport NZ, SuperSport, OSN Sports Cricket HD, Gazi TV

Live Streaming: CrickeX

Toss Prediction

The Westpac Stadium has hosted nine T20 internationals till date out of which seven have been won by the side bowling first. And also since the wicket is not expected to change much after the first period of play, the toss-winning captain will probably elect to field first.

New Zealand Team News & Playing 11

New Zealand have been dealt a big  blow ahead of the T20I series with opening batsman Martin Guptill being ruled out of the entire series due to a back injury. Allrounder James Neesham has been added to the squad as a replacement for Guptill.

Fast bowler Blair Tickner, wicketkeeper Tim Seifert and allrounders Daryl Mitchell and Scott Kuggeleijn are the fresh faces that have been included by the hosts in their T20 squad

New Zealand Predicted Playing 11

• Colin Munro, Kane Williamson (c), Ross Taylor, Tim Seifert (wk), James Neesham, Colin de Grandhomme, Doug Bracewell, Scott Kuggeleijn, Ish Sodhi, Lockie Ferguson, Tim Southee

India Team News & Playing 11

Rohit Sharma will continue to remain in charge of the Indian team in the absence of regular skipper Virat Kohli who flew back home after the third one-day international.

Wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant has been picked for the T20I series along with all rounder Krunal Pandya and pace bowler Siddarth Kaul. Vijay Shankar and Shubman Gill, who made his international debut in the fourth ODI, have been retained.

India Predicted Playing 11

• Rohit Sharma (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Rishabh Pant, MS Dhoni (wk), Dinesh Karthik, Krunal Pandya/Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed/Siddarth Kaul, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav

NZ vs IND Head to Head

New Zealand and India have played eight T20 internationals against each other with the former leading the scoreline 6-2.

The two countries have faced each other just once at the Westpac Stadium in the twenty-over format. That game was played back in February 2009 and New Zealand emerged victorious by five wickets. India scored 149/6 after being asked to bat first and then the hosts chased down that total on the final ball of the match.

Matches Played: 8; New Zealand Won: 6; India Won: 2

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India vs New Zealand, 3rd ODI: Live scorecard and full commentary

IN his absence, Rohit Sharma will take the charge. 

Rohit will be eager to make his 200th appearance for India a memorable one with a solid performance against a below-par New Zealand on Thursday. Rohit has a good record as stand-in captain and has three double hundreds in ODIs to his credit, would aim to tighten the noose around New Zealand in what could be another batting friendly track at Seddon Park. 

Pretty close to the World Cup, New Zealand showed they were not fixed on the idea of Colin Munro opening the innings. After they won the toss and decided to field – hoping for some dew to help their chase later – Kane Williamson announced that Munro had been dropped and Henry Nicholls was set to move up the order. Both James Neesham and Todd Astle walked into the XI. Lockie Ferguson was left out for Matt Henry. Colin de Grandhomme came back too.

In the other camp, MS Dhoni was not yet fit, but he handed over a new cap to arguably one of the most exciting debutants in recent times. Shubhman Gill, according to the resting Virat Kohli 10 times more talented than him at the age of 19, became India’s newest cricketer, taking Kohli’s place in the line-up. India also rested Mohammed Shami to bring Khaleel Ahmed in.

India 1 Rohit Sharma (capt.), 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Ambati Rayudu, 4 Shubhman Gill, 5 Kedar Jadhav, 6 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 7 Hardik Pandya, 8 Kuldeep Yadav, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Khaleel Ahmed, 11 Yuzvendra Chahal

New Zealand (likely) 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Henry Nicholls, 3 Kane Williamson (capt.), 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Tom Latham (wk), 6 James Neesham, 7 Colin de Grandhomme, 8 Mitchell Santner, 8 Todd Astle, 10 Matt Henry, 11 Trent Boult

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The team expects to wrap up the five-match ODI series with all wins and to use this platform to strengthen the team ahead of the ICC World Cup.

With the fourth ODI coming up, many benched player will be getting an opportunity. With Virat Kohli rested and the team led by Rohit Sharma, there is sure to see some fireworks in Hamilton.

Here’s a look at the predicted XI for the Indian team.

1. Rohit Sharma

India’s vice-captain and now the captain, Rohit Sharma has had a tremendous form in this series. He scored two back-to-back half-centuries (87 and 62) in the second and third ODI respectively. Hope the captaincy helps the Hitman score a century.

2. Shikhar Dhawan

Nicknamed ‘Gabbar’ by teammates, Shikhar Dhawan showed good form in the first two ODIs. However, the hard-hitting opening batsman went off the boil in the third ODI.Dhawan didn’t have a great ODI series in Australia, but he made sure he did it New Zealand.The batsman is eagerly looking to score some runs in the upcoming ODI.

3. Shubman Gill

Indian team debutant Shubman Gill has been the talk of the town. The Punjab batsman has scored 1,089 runs in 9 first-class matches and 1,529 runs in 36 List A matches. The star of the U-19 World Cup in 2018 was even complimented by skipper Virat Kohli saying that he was not even 10% of what Gill is at the age of 19.

4. Ambati Rayudu

Playing a crucial role in the second ODI and having a partnership with Virat and MS Dhoni, Ambati Rayudu has made his place in the team.Batting at number four in this series, he hasn’t got enough time to show his potential. There are hopes; he will make this series worth for the World Cup selection.

5. MS Dhoni

The wicketkeeper who suffered a hamstring injury in the second ODI and missed the third could possibly make a comeback.If declared fit, he could replace Dinesh Karthik. Having played some good knocks, Dhoni has shown that he can still finish games with his cool and calm demeanour.

6. Kedar Jadhav

Being good with the ball, Kedar Jadhav has not managed to do much with the bat. In the second ODI, Jadhav made an impact with the 10 deliveries he faced with a score of 22 runs.He also shared an important partnership of 53 runs with MS Dhoni which helped the visitors to take their score over 320. 

7. Hardik Pandya

Embroiled in controversies, Hardik Pandya made sure his comeback would leave a mark on everyone. From taking two wickets to the stunning catch to dismiss New Zealand’s best batsman Kane Williamson, Pandya did impress everyone.Calling him the balance creator in the team line up, we hope he continues to perform with the bat and ball and not with his mouth.

8. Bhuvneshwar Kumar

The less said the better as Bhuvneshwar Kumar has made everyone happy with his good bowling rhythm.The fast bowler provided early breakthroughs in the last two ODIs. Mohammed Shami even said that Bhuvneshwar’s bowling has helped him bowl better at the other end.

9. Kuldeep Yadav

Being a major part of the bowling unit, Kuldeep Yadav has taken consecutive four-wicket hauls in the first two matches.He went wicket-less in the third ODI, but still bowled an economical spell of 4.87 in eight overs. He along with Yuzvendra Chahal �?the duo being called KulCha �?have restricted the opposition’s runs in the middle overs.

10. Yuzvendra Chahal

The quirky man who now runs the Chahal TV for BCCI has been bowling brilliantly since the third ODI against Australia. Yuzvendra Chahal chipped in with two wickets in each of the matches. If India decides to go ahead with one spinner, he could take Kuldeep Yadav’s place in the World Cup.

11. Mohammed Siraj

Since the first Test against Australia in Adelaide, Mohammed Shami has been playing non-stop. The Indian team would want to give the bowler rest and play Mohammed Siraj instead. Siraj didn’t start off his ODI career well but if given a chance could help the team.

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