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A disciplined bowling display from the bowlers in Thiruvananthapuram helped India earn their first bilateral Twenty20 series win against New Zealand as the visitors fell short by six runs in the decider to lose the three-match series 1-2 in a rain-curtailed 8-over-a-side match. Jasprit Bumrah (2/9) and Yuzvendra Chahal (8 runs in 2 overs) starred with the ball as the batsmen could not catch up with the ever-rising required run-rate. For New Zealand, Colin de Grandhomme was the only saving grace who remained not out on 17. (Scorecard)
Highlights of the third and final T20I match between India and New Zealand
23:10 IST: Thank you for joining us for the India-New Zealand ODI and T20I series. Do tune back in when India take on Sri Lanka for a three-match Test series starting on November 16.
23:04 IST: And it is all over! India have defeated New Zealand by six runs to clinch the three-match T20 series 2-1 at Thiruvananthapuram.
22:58 IST: SIX! Oh dear! Grandhomme smacks Pandya for a massive maximum.
22:53 IST: Last over! New Zealand need 19 in six balls.
22:48 IST: OUT! Bumrah gets his second of the night, bowls on the pads, Nicholls down on one knee, sweeps and top edges the ball to Shreyas Iyer at fine-leg.
22:45 IST: New Zealand 39/4 in 6.0 overs, need 29 runs in 12 balls.
22:43 IST: Brilliant bowling from Chahal, concedes just three runs off the over.
22:40 IST: New Zealand need 32 runs in 18 balls.
22:39 IST: Six! Colin de Grandhomme, the new man in, hammers Kuldeep for a huge maximum straight down the ground.
22:38 IST: Out! Kuldeep gets his first, Phillips departs for 11. Dhawan at deep mid-wicket takes a good catch.
22:36 IST: Out! Attempting a cheeky single, Pandya picks up the ball with one hand and gets a direct hit on the stumps as Williamson falls short of the crease.
22:35 IST: Half-way through the game, New Zealand (26/2) need 42 runs in 24 balls.
22:34 IST: Four! Back-to-back boundaries for Phillips off Bhuvneshwar.
22:33 IST: Four! Bhuvneshwar strays on the pads, Phillips connects well for a one-drop-bounce boundary.
22:30 IST: Brilliant bowling from Chahal. New Zealand 14/2 after the third over. Kiwis need 52 runs in 30 balls.
22:27 IST: Yuzvendra Chahal introduced in the attack.
22:26 IST: New Zealand 11/2 after the second over (Williamson 2*, Glenn Phillips 0*)
22:24 IST: Out! Jasprit Bumrah gets the danger man Colin Munro. Trying to go big down the ground, miscues, Rohit runs back and takes a brilliant catch to breathe life back in the back.
22:22 IST: New Zealand 8/1 after the first over.
22:21 IST: OUT! Bhuvneshwar bowls a slower delivery. Guptill fails to read, hastens into the shot, misses and the off-stump is out of the ground.
22:17 IST: Six! Munro, steps down the ground, clubs Bhuvneshwar for a huge maximum over deep mid-wicket.
22:16 IST: Colin Munro and Martin Guptill opening the batting for New Zealand.
22:15 IST: Welcome back to the chase. Bhuvneshwar Kumar is leading the bowling attack for India.
22:10 IST: Stay tuned for the second innings!
22:08 IST: That is it! India finish 67/5 in 8 overs. (Kohli 13, Pandey 17)
22:05 IST: Out! Boult dismisses Pandey for 17. Brilliant catch by Santner at deep mid-wicket.
22:01 IST: India 61/4 in 7.0 overs (Pandya 8*, Pandey 17*)
22:00 IST: SIX! Santner bowls in the slot to Pandya and the batsman clears his leg and sends the ball way back in the stands. Massive!
21:58 IST: India 50/4 in 6.0 overs (Pandya 1*, Pandey 14*)
21:56 IST: OUT! India lose their fourth, Iyer takes the long walk back for 6, Sodhi gets his second.
21:54 IST: Six! Right in the slot and Pandey dispatches Sodhi for a huge maximum.
21:52 IST: India 40/3 after the fifth over (Iyer 6*, Pandey 6*)
21:50 IST: Four! Room outside off from Southee, Manish Pandey slams the ball through covers for his first boundary.
21:48 IST: Out! Looking to clear the deep mid-wicket fielder, Kohli sends the ball straight down his throat. India 30/3 in 3.5 overs.
21:45 IST: Four and a six!! Kohli welcomes Ish Sodhi with two beautiful shots. Pulls the short delivery first for a boundary and then picks up the length delivery and clubs it over long-on for a maximum.
21:43 IST: India 18/2 in 3.0 overs (Kohli 2*, Iyer 1*)
21:42 IST: Out! Two in two for Southee. This time Rohit departs for 9. India 15/2 in 2.3 overs.
21:40 IST: Out! Southee gives New Zealand first breakthrough. Dhawan (6) going for the big shot, miscues and Santner takes a good catch.
21:39 IST: Tim Southee introduced in the attack. Starts with a slower ball.
21:38 IST: New Zealand bowlers have been really good in the first two overs. India need to up the ante in order to score a competitive total.
21:37 IST: India 13/0 after the second over (Rohit 8*, Dhawan 6*)
21:36 IST: Four! Bounce for Santner, Rohit slaps the ball straight down the ground. Mid-on chases but fails to cut-off.
21:35 IST: Mitchell Santner bowling the second over.
21:33 IST: India 7/0 after the first over (Dhawan 6*, Rohit 1*)
21:32 IST: Four! Dhawan comes down the pitch and slices the ball over covers for a boundary.
21:31 IST: Beaten! Boult bowls on and around around off-stump, Dhawan looking to defend, misses the ball by a whisker. Beautiful bowling!
21:30 IST: First ball, Boult bowls on the pads and Rohit flicks it fine leg for one run.
21:29 IST: Trent Boult opening the bowling for New Zealand.
21:28 IST: Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan opening the batting for India.
21:26 IST: Alright then! Umpires and both teams walk out in the middle.
21:24 IST: Team Changes: For India, Axar Patel and Mohammed Siraj make way for Manish Pandey and Kuldeep Yadav. For New Zealand, Tim Southee replaces Adam Milne.
21:22 IST: Playing XI of both the teams.
IND XI: R Sharma, S Dhawan, V Kohli (C), S Iyer, M Pandey, M Dhoni (W), H Pandya, B Kumar, J Bumrah, K Yadav, Y Chahal #INDvNZ
— NDTV Live Scores (@CricketNDTVLive) November 7, 2017
NZ XI: M Guptill, C Munro, K Williamson (C), T Bruce, G Phillips (W), H Nicholls, C de Grandhomme, M Santner, T Southee, I Sodhi, T Boult
— NDTV Live Scores (@CricketNDTVLive) November 7, 2017
21:19 IST: Toss Time! New Zealand captain Kane Williamson wins toss, elects to bowl in a rain-curtailed match
New Zealand wins the toss, elects to bowl first #INDvNZ pic.twitter.com/mWwN0Yv0YV
— BCCI (@BCCI) November 7, 2017
21:10 IST: As per the new rules, four bowlers can now bowl two overs each.
So 8 overs. Start at 2130. Toss at 21.15. As per new rules, 4 bowlers bowl 2 overs each
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) November 7, 2017
21:05 IST: We have some great news coming in. The toss will be at 9:15 and play will start at 9.30. It will be a 8-over game.
Play to start at 9.30 PM IST. 8 overs a side #INDvNZ pic.twitter.com/WvzHDBFS41
— BCCI (@BCCI) November 7, 2017
21:00 IST: While it isn't raining, the main pitch has been covered once again. The umpires are all set for the inspection. We will have an update shortly.
20:58 IST: It looks highly unlikely that we will get anything more than a five-over game.
Looking good now. Hopefully an 8 over game? Great atmosphere here, deserve to get a game
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) November 7, 2017
20:49 IST: Update: Inspection at 21:00 IST
UPDATE - Inspection at 9 PM IST #INDvNZ pic.twitter.com/D3QuEmSlXB
— BCCI (@BCCI) November 7, 2017
20:47 IST: Players from both teams are warming up while Ravi Shastri and few other New Zealand players are having a look at the pitch.
The covers are off and Coach is heading out to have a look at the wicket! Good signs! #indvnz pic.twitter.com/rpvk4vK0h1
— BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) November 7, 2017
20:45 IST: A start before 9.30 or 9:45 is highly unlikely. It might just come down to a five-over match but we need wait till the umpires are done with the inspection. At the moment they are having a closer look at the square.
20:40 IST: The square was covered up until now but they are also being removed now. Both teams are having a close look at the square. No official word as to when the match will start.
20:24 IST: We have some good news coming in. The rain has stopped and the covers are coming off.
UPDATE: The rain has stopped and the covers are coming off now #INDvNZ
— BCCI (@BCCI) November 7, 2017
20:06 IST: We have started to lose overs now. For every 4 minutes lost, we will lose one over.
Very gentle drizzle, super soppers out. Needs to stop by around 9 for a 5 over game. (Cut-off we believe is 21.46)
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) November 7, 2017
19:40 IST: As we get to hear the cut-off time for a 5-over match is 22:15 IST.
19:33 IST: Update: It is still drizzling heavily.
19:30 IST: Trivia: Ravi Shastri captained Team India the last time International cricket came to Thiruvananthapuram.
19:21 IST: If the game doesn't start anytime soon then we will start losing overs.
19:15 IST: While rain delays start of play, India's Hardik Pandya and New Zealand's Martin Guptill share a light moment.
#SpiritofCricket pic.twitter.com/1OLvBDSFJk
— ICC (@ICC) November 7, 2017
19:10 IST: Team India enjoying a game of football as rain plays spoilsport
#TeamIndia boys enjoying a game of football as rain plays spoilsport #INDvNZ pic.twitter.com/iHsBBPoDKg
— BCCI (@BCCI) November 7, 2017
19:05 IST: Update: Start of play delayed due to rain.
Rain delays start of play in the 3rd T20I against New Zealand #INDvNZ pic.twitter.com/p5fXdwrApO
— BCCI (@BCCI) November 7, 2017
Too much moisture #indvnz pic.twitter.com/vjikPq6hJu
— BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) November 7, 2017
18:37 IST: Greenfield Stadium becomes the 19th venue to host a T20I in India.
Greenfield Stadium becomes the 19th venue to host a T20I in India #INDvNZ pic.twitter.com/ORPjMf86wS
— BCCI (@BCCI) November 7, 2017
18:30 IST: UPDATE: Toss delayed to rain
UPDATE - Toss delayed due to rain #INDvNZ pic.twitter.com/inOG4Y8uf7
— BCCI (@BCCI) November 7, 2017
18:25 IST: Sunil Gavaskar in a pre-match show says that it is still drizzling and the weather does not look good.
18:24 IST: Trivia: India have never recorded a bilateral series win in T20Is against new Zealand.
18:20 IST: Few minutes from the toss, Stay tuned!
18:05 IST: Trivia: Virat Kohli needs 57 runs to complete 2000 runs in T20Is.
17:50 IST: News coming in that there is a slight drizzle in the ground right now.
Surely this drizzle isn't going to ruin the occasion for the sports lovers of Kerala. So hoping we will get a nice game
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) November 7, 2017
17:40 IST: Well, it seems the weather is clear and the decider will be played.
Hello and welcome to the Greenfield Stadium in Trivandrum for the decider game #INDvNZ pic.twitter.com/w5DKe0QjAA
— BCCI (@BCCI) November 7, 2017
Wow, this ground in Thiruvananthapuram is looking excellent. Outfield in fine shape, lights brilliant. Hopefully, rain stays away.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) November 7, 2017
17:23 IST: Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra took to twitter to give an update about the weather conditions.
Latest Update... #AakashVani #IndvNZ Looking Bright... pic.twitter.com/qHMaDsvs33
— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) November 7, 2017
17:21 IST: While both team aims for a series victory, rain threat looms large over the series decider at Thiruvananthapuram.
17:20 IST: Hello and welcome to the live blog of the T20I match between India and New Zealand.
In Dhoni's innings, he had scored 26 runs in boundaries from five deliveries (3x6, 2x4) and managed only 23 from the remaining 32 deliveries, which is far less than run a ball. It will be interesting to see where Kohli and chief coach Ravi Shastri slot Dhoni in the next game. A school of thought suggests that Dhoni will be suited at No 4 in case India lose early wickets as it will give him time to settle down. The Indian team's performance has been one of contrast in the first two games.
