IND vs NZ 2021, 3rd T20, Live Cricket Scores: Axar Patel Strikes Early As India Defend 184/7

The third and final T20 International between India vs New Zealand may be a dead rubber but it could be a platform for India's newbies to make an impression on the international stage and at one of the world's most famous venues, the Eden Gardens, Kolkata. Follow live cricket scores of IND vs NZ, 3rd T20. India lead the series 2-0.

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9:13 PM IST: Axar Strikes

Bowling change and Axar Patel strikes with the first ball. A skier from Daryl Mitchell and easy for Harshal Patel at point. Mitchell goes for 5 off 6. Mark Chapman is the new man. NZ - 21/1 (2.1)

9:11 PM IST: Dropped

Deepak Chahar shares the new ball with Bhuvneshwar Kumar. A single, and Daryl Mitchell lofts the second over cover for a four. A single, then a six as Martin Guptill sends the ball into Indian dug out. And a four, over the bowler's head. A bounder and Chahar then drops Guptill. 16 from the over. NZ - 21/0 (2)

9:04 PM IST: Chase Begins

Bhuvneshwar Kumar with the new ball. Martin Guptill takes the strike. And a four off the second ball, lofts over extra cover. A single off the next to give strike to Daryl Mitchell. Five from the over. Target for New Zealand - 185.

8:49 PM IST: Innings Break

Adam Milne with the final over. Deepak Chahar hits the first ball for a four, over point, and another one, this time flicks to deep midwicket boundary. A couple off the third, to deep mid-wicket. Stand an deliver from Chahal for a six, over long on. A salute from Rohit Sharma. Another couple to mid-wicket. 19 from the over. Milne's figures: 1/47. 50 runs in the last 30 balls. IND - 184/7 (20)

8:43 PM IST: Hit Wicket

Lockie Ferguson returns for his fourth over. Harshal Patel hits the first ball for a six, over long-off. A dot, then the wicket. Hit wicket. Harshal goes for 18 off 11. He's only the second Indian batter to get out hit wicket after KL Rahul (in 2018 against Sri Lanka). Deepak Chahar is the new man. Nine from the over. Ferguson's figures: 1/45. IND - 165/7 (19)

8:49 PM IST: Dead rubber? No problem

Crowds returned to the iconic Eden Gardens after a hiatus of more than two years... Read on

8:37 PM IST: 1/31 For Boult

Trent Boult with the last over. A dot, and single, then a leg bye. A misfield at sweeper cover from Lockie Ferguson and four for Harshal Patel. A slow bouncer for a wide. Umpire Virender Sharma is very strict tonight. And an overthrow from Mark Chapman to give a single. Eight from the over. Boult's figures: 1/31. IND - 156/6 (18)

A 22-run stand for the eight-wicket in the last one and half overs for India as Deepak Chahar hit an unbeaten 21 off 8.

8:31 PM IST: Harshal Four

New man Harshal Patel hits the third ball for a four, over mid-off. Long handle. 8 from the over. 40 runs and two wickets in the last 30 balls. IND - 148/6 (17)

8:26 PM IST; Patels In The Middle

Adam Milne returns for his third over. And wicket. Shreyas Iyer hits the first ball straight to Daryl Mitchell at long-on. Now, after the Iyers, Patels in the middle as Harshal joins Axar. IND - 140/6 (16.1)

8:24 PM IST: Five Down

Trent Boult with his third over. A single, then Shreyas Iyer plays the second ball for a couple behind point, helped by a misfield. A wide for height. Tough. Boult then gets the wicket of Venkatesh Iyer. Holes out at deep midwicket, caught by Mark Chapman. V Iyer goes for 20 off 15. 36 run stand in 27 balls broken. Axar Patel in at 7. A single to end the over. Six from the over. IND - 140/5 (16)

8:17 PM IST: New Ball

Mitchell Santner returns for his final over. Two singles, then a four for Venkatesh Iyer down the ground. And umpires want a new ball, probably it's out of shape due to Rohit Sharma pounding or a due to dew. Well, it's out of shape. Seven from the over. Santner's figures: 3/27. IND - 134/4 (15)

8:12 PM IST: V Iyer Six

Ish Sodhi with his final over. A single, and Shreyas Iyer hits the second ball for a four, first in 13 legal deliveries, behind point. A single, then Venkatesh Iyer hits a biggie, over deep midwicket. 13 from the over. Sodhi's figures: 1/31. IND - 127/4 (14)

8:04 PM IST: Quiet Overs

Lockie Ferguson returns for his third over. Six from it - five singles and a wide. 37 runs and two wickets in the last 30 balls. IND - 114/4 (13)

8:04 PM IST: Iyer And Iyer

Venkatesh Iyer joins Shreyas Iyer. Five runs and a wicket from the over. IND - 108/4 (12)

8:00 PM IST: Rohit Goes

Ish Sodhi on with his third and a dot. And caught and bowled. Rohit Sharma goes for 56 off 31. 34 runs and three wickets in the last 30 balls. IND - 103/4 (11.2)

7:58 PM IST: Rohit Fifty

Mitchell Santner with his third over. Two singles, and a four to third man as Rohit Sharma reaches another fifty. This time in 27 balls. He now has the most fifties in T20Is, one more than Virat Kohli (29). Shreyas Iyer hits the last ball for a four, to backward point. 13 from the over. IND - 103/3 (11)

7:52 PM IST: Busy Over

Ish Sodhi continues. New man Shreyas Iyer takes a double each off the last two balls. Seven from the over. Rohit Sharma on 48 off 25 (four fours and three sixes). IND - 90/3 (10)

7:47 PM IST: Three Down

Mitchell Santner continues and he gets another, 3rd tonight. Rishabh Pant launches the sixth ball only to find Jimmy Neesham. Pant goes for 4 off 6. Rohit Sharma shakes his head in disbelief. IND - 83/3 (9)

7:42 PM IST: Spin From Both Ends

Bowling change. Ish Sodhi on and six singles. 48 runs and two wickets in the last 30 balls. IND - 77/2 (8)

7:38 PM ITS: Two Down

And another one for the Kiwi stand-in skipper Mitchell Santner in his first over. Suryakumar Yadav (0 off 4), caught by Martin Guptill at cover. Rishabh Pant is next for India. IND - 71/2 (7)

7:34 PM IST: Wicket

Mitchell Santner on and he strikes. A dot then a fine take by Tim Seifert behind the wicket to send Ishan Kishan (29 off 21) back. Suryakumar Yadav joins Rohit Sharma in the middle. IND - 69/1 (6.2)

7:32 PM IST: Sixes Record

Lockie Ferguson continues. Rohit Sharma hits the first ball for a four, to mid-off boundary. A single, then a four as Ishan Kishan plays a lofted drive. A single, then 150th T20I six for Rohit. And a four to end the over. A gentle flick, a caress to the liking of Rahul Dravid. 20 from the over. IND - 69/0 (6)

7:28 PM IST: Kishan Fours

Three on the trot for Trent Boult. Another expensive over. Ishan Kishan hits back-to-back fours off the third and fourth balls. 10 from the over. IND - 49/0 (5)

7:21 PM IST: Another Rohit Six

Bowling change. Lockie Ferguson on with his first over. A dot, then a six as a Rohit Sharma mistimed shot gets enough to sail over mid-off boundary. Glenn Phillips then pulls off a stunning effort to save one off the next. Almost a four. 10 from the over. IND - 39/0 (4)

7:16 PM IST: Rohit Six

Trent Boult continues. A dot, then Rohit Sharma hits the first six of the match. Top edge and sails over fine leg boundary. Ishan Kishan hits the fourth for a four, to square leg. 11 from the over. IND - 29/0 (3)

7:11 PM IST:  Very Good Start

Adam Milne shares the new ball. Ishan Kishan starts with a four, three dots then a couple. A four to end the over. 10 from the over.  IND - 18/0 (2)

7:05 PM IST: Good Start

Trent Boult with the new ball. Rohit Sharma hits the first two balls for fours. Eight from the over. Ishan Kishan is yet to face a ball.

6:40 PM IST: Dada In The house

Sourav Ganguly rings the bell.

ðŸÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂŽ¥ That moment when Mr. Sourav Ganguly, President, BCCI rang the famous Eden Gardens bell to commence the proceedings. 👏 👏#TeamIndia #INDvNZ @Paytm | @SGanguly99 pic.twitter.com/uCIiADbpcx

— BCCI (@BCCI) November 21, 2021

BTW, here's a look at the famous Maidan market, in the Esplanade region of Kolkata. This is a hub of sports goods and jerseys of national teams and famous international teams across sports.

6:36 PM IST: Teams

Mitchell Santner is leading the Kiwis tonight. And Lockie Ferguson in for Tim Southee. Two changes for India. Ishan Kishan and Yuzvendra Chahal come in for rested KL Rahul and Ravi Ashwin. Here are the playing XIs

India: Rohit Sharma (c), Ishan Kishan (wk), Venkatesh Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Deepak Chahar, Harshal Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal.

New Zealand: Martin Guptill, Daryl Mitchell, Mark Chapman, Glenn Phillips, Tim Seifert (wk), James Neesham, Mitchell Santner (c), Adam Milne, Lockie Ferguson, Ish Sodhi, Trent Boult.

6:31 PM IST: Toss

India win the toss and will bat first.

After defeats and Jaipur and Ranchi, New Zealand can at best score a consolation win at Eden Gardens ahead of the two-Test series starting November 25 in Kanpur. But India's next-generation cricketers like Venkatesh Iyer, Ishan Kishan, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Harshal Patel are looking for avenues to impress and exploit every opportunity to impress.

New Zealand are tired after playing virtually non-stop at the T20 World Cup in UAE. They lost the final match against Australia on November 14 and was playing a fresh series in India on November 17. Such punishing schedules can really test a team's mental strength and the ability to execute its core skills. The Kiwis have been quite below par in India.

Having lost the T20 series, New Zealand will probably be free in mind and express themselves better. New Zealand's middle-order batting has been a weak point and if they can add to the good starts Martin Guptill and Mark Chapman have provided, then India have a challenge at hand.

India have rode solid starts from skipper Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul. On Friday, Rohit and Rahul have equalled Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan's record of most century partnerships in T20 internationals.

Plus, Eden Gardens is one of Rohit Sharma's favourite grounds. On November 13, 2014, Rohit smashed 264 not out against Sri Lanka, the highest individual score in an ODI, at Eden. A 3-0 scoreline on Sunday will be the perfect icing on the cake for the new T20 captain of India.