Tim Seifert hammered 84 runs in 43 balls. (Source: AP)After the ODI series loss by 4-1, New Zealand bounced back to pick up a massive 80-run win in the first T20I against New Zealand at Westpac Stadium in Wellington on Wednesday. Chasing down the target of 220 runs set up by New Zealand, India only managed to reach 139 in 19.2 overs. Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan got off to a fine start, before the skipper handed a catch to Tim Southee at deep midwicket.
India sprung up a surprise, sending Vijay Shankar to bat at No. 3. The allrounder impressed hammering 27 runs in 18 balls. But after Dhawan was cleaned up by a 151 kph delivery from Lockie Ferguson, India’s middle-order came unglued.
Mitchell Santner and Ish Sodhi remained the star bowlers for the Kiwis. While Santner dismissed the dangerous Rishabh Pant and Vijay Shankar in the same over, Sodhi took care of Dinesh Karthik and Hardik Pandya in his first over to allow Kiwis to take control of the match.
MS Dhoni and Krunal Pandya added 52 runs together, but it was not enough to help the side. Tim Southee dismissed Pandya for 20, while Bhuvneshwar Kumar was dismissed in the next over by Lockie Ferguson. Dhoni’s resistance ended as he pulled a short delivery from Tim Southee to Lockie Ferguson in the deep. In the final over, Daryl Mitchell cleaned up Yuzvendra Chahal as India were bowled out for 139.
Earlier, India skipper Rohit Sharma had won the toss and asked the Kiwis to come on to bat. In the absence of Martin Guptill, wicketkeeper Tim Seifert was given the responsibility to open the innings with Colin Munro. The right-handed batsman impressed as he hammered 84 runs in 43 balls to help the Kiwis cross the 200-run mark. The keeper was awarded the man of the match award for his performance.
New Zealand’s middle order, comprising of Kane Williamson (34) and Ross Taylor (23) added important runs for the team while a late hitting from Scott Kuggeleijn (20 runs in 7 balls) took New Zealand to 219/6 in 20 overs.
This is India’s biggest defeat in terms of run margin in T20Is. With the win, New Zealand take a 1-0 lead in the series. The two teams will meet again for the 2nd T20I on Friday.
