IND v NZ 2nd T20I Review: Kiwis dismantle India by 40 runs draw level in the series

Before the start of the series, New Zealand, based on their unbeaten record against India in T20 Internationals, came into the series as firm favourites. However, the Indian team defied the odds and comprehensively turned over the Kiwis by 53 runs. Going into the second game, while India was expected to seal the series, the Kiwis looked to draw level with a victory. Nonetheless, it was the Black Caps who won the game by a handsome margin of 40 runs.

The pitch at Rajkot was an absolute belter and provided minimum assistance for the bowlers. On the batsman’s paradise Kane Williamson, the New Zealand skipper won the toss and elected to put runs on the board. The decision paid off big time as their openers, Colin Munro and Martin Guptill, laid into the Indian bowling attack by playing some extravagant strokes.

Both openers faltered in their previous game but made amends by stitching together a stand of 105 runs 67 balls. The pitched allowed the batsmen to play on the up and Guptill and Munro took full advantage of the conditions. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, bowled a decent first over to start proceedings for India. He was also one of India’s more economical bowlers in the game with figures of 4-0-29-0. Though he returned wicketless, he was able to restrict the Kiwis from getting the better of him.

Jasprit Bumrah was also outstanding with the ball and never allowed the Kiwis to get the measure of him. He finished with an economy of 5.75 in his quota of 4 overs. However, even after some brilliant bowling by Kumar and Bumrah, the Black Caps managed to rack up 196 runs for the loss of 2 wickets. Guptill was aggressive during his knock and managed 3 boundaries and 3 colossal sixes in his innings of 45 runs. However, he couldn’t rotate the strike enough and therefore ended with a strike-rate of 109.75.

Munro, on the contrary, went berserk right from the outset. He was pretty severe on the debutant, Mohammed Siraj, and hit for him for quite a few boundaries. Siraj had a forgettable debut as he went for 53 runs, but picked up the wicket of his Sunrisers Hyderabad team-mate Kane Williamson.

Meanwhile, Colin Munro notched up his second T20 International century of 2017 in 51 balls. Williamson and Tom Bruce played cameos of 12 and 18 respectively, but it was Munro’s belligerent knock that set India the daunting target. The Indian spinners in Yuzvendra Chahal and Axar Patel also turned out to be expensive with an economy of 9 and 13 respectively.

A run-chase that never gained momentum

The run-chase was always going to be an uphill task for the Men in Blue. They didn’t get off to an auspicious start as Trent Boult made inroads into their batting lineup by dismissing Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan in his first over. Shreyas Iyer, in his brief knock of 23 in 21 balls, looked ominous for the Kiwis, but Colin Munro latched on to a difficult caught & bowled chance to send him packing.

Hardik Pandya was expected to deposit a few in the stands but fell to a ripping wrong urn by Ish Sodhi that cannoned into his stumps. However, like many times, the onus was on Virat Kohli to take India past the finishing line. Ever since he came to bat, it was evident that India’s chances of a victory depended on Virat Kohli.

To be fair to him, he tried his heart out and played another brilliant knock of 65 runs off 42 balls. Nevertheless, the asking rate leapfrogged at an alarming rate and he was finally dismissed by Mitchell Santner, trying to play a lofted shot down the ground. Mahendra Singh Dhoni joined Kohli after Iyer’s dismissal, but could never get himself going. He struggled to get the ball away as the run-rate mounted. With runs not coming from the other end, Kohli felt the pressure to manufacture strokes and perished in the quest.

Dhoni eventually got a few in the middle of the bat, but it was all too late in the day. Trent Boult got rid of him in the final over of the run chase when Dhoni mistimed a pull shot. Along with Boult, Milne also kept the runs in check. India finally managed 156 in 20 overs and lost by 40 runs. With all to play for, the teams now head to Thiruvananthapuram for the third and final T20 of the series.

Brief Scores:

New Zealand- 196/2 (Colin Munro 109, Martin Guptill 45; Yuzvendra Chahal 1/36, Mohammed Siraj 1/53)

India- 156/7 (Virat Kohli 65, MS Dhoni 49; Trent Boult 4/34, Ish Sodhi 1/25)

Result: New Zealand won by 40 runs