Professional Review and Highlights of India vs New Zealand T20I Series Games
T20 World Cup disappointments and a strong comeback, an in-depth review & highlights of India vs New Zealand T20I Series games.
Men in blue once again showed that they are the best when it comes to playing T20 at
home. Indian cricket fans had a lot of expectations from the team after their early exit
from the T20 World Cup. Many betting sites in India and cricket experts predicted that
India will bounce back strongly and win the series 3-0 against the T20 world Cup runner
ups. India won all the three games convincingly and looked confident with the first time
Skipper Rohit Sharma getting the man of the series award.
Let’s take a look at the highlights of how India won the series against New Zealand.
What Changed for Team India
The Indian cricket team were playing at their home soil, so they had an added
advantage of knowing the ground conditions much better than New Zealand. As Virat
Kohli was rested for the series, stakes were high for Rohit Sharma and company to
perform and win the series.
India dominated in all three T20 games against New Zealand. With the combination
of experienced players and youngsters, the Indian team looked quite confident against
the kiwis. They won the first T20 match by 5 wickets after restricting the NZ team to 164/6 in
their 20 overs. Surya Kumar Yadav scored 62 off 40 balls with 6 boundaries and 3
sixes.
India defeated NZ in the second match by 7 wickets with an excellent bowling spell by
Harshal Patel to restrict the Kiwis to a score of 153. KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma scored
the fifties to help India take 2-0 lead in the second match. While Rahul scored 64 runs, the
skipper added 55 runs to his name.
In the third T20 match, India put on a big total of 184/7 on the board and bowled out
New Zealand for 111 runs to win the match by 73 runs. Rohit Sharma scored a quickfire 56 off 31 balls with 5 boundaries and 3 sixes.
Opening Partnership that Made the Difference
The Indian opening duo, Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul provided the start India needed in
the first six powerplay overs. They smashed the New Zealand bowlers all over the park
and there was no looking back. New Zealand bowlers had to try hard to take their
wickets.
Both the openers scored in boundaries to provide a strong opening partnership for
India. The Indian team easily managed to cross 50 runs in the powerplay in all the
three games they played.
Middle Order was Quite Strong
With the likes of Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, and Shreyas Iyer, India’s middle-order looks promising. With all the batsmen having the ability to clear the ground, scoring runs at more than 8 per over in the middle overs was easy for India.
Suryakumar Yadav scored 50 in the first T20 match and provided India with a 1-0 lead.
Rishabh Pant cleared a few shots out of the park as well. The batting order was stabilized
by Shreyas Iyer whenever it was required.
Harshal Patel Making a Big Difference
Everyone saw Patel’s calibre in the IPL this year. Continuing his form, Harshal Patel
took 4 wickets in 2 matches he played. The New Zealand batsman had no idea how to
play his slow deliveries and yorkers.
He has been a real asset for India in T20 and provides the needed breakthrough. He
was well Supported by Mohammed Siraj, Deepak Chahar, and Akshar Patel at the other
end.
Akshar Patel was declared man of the match in the third T20 match as he took three
wickets by just giving away 9 runs.
Conclusion
Team India won all three games convincingly. The players played their best to clinch
the series 3-0 at home. With the new T20 skipper Rohit Sharma looking in solid form,
there are many more series to come where India will look to outshine their opponents.