IND vs NZ: Rohit Sharma hilariously hits Mohammed Siraj while sitting in the dugout

A new era in Indian men’s cricket started on Thursday, November 17, 2021. With Rahul Dravid taking over as the head coach in a full-time capacity and Rohit Sharma taking the role of the T20I captain, the start was quite good. India beat New Zealand in Jaipur by five wickets in the first T20I, taking a 1-0 lead in the three-match T20I series. 

During the Indian run chase, there was one moment that was captured in the dugout which is quite funny, to say the least. In a video uploaded by a fan on social media, Rohit was seen hitting Mohammed Siraj jokingly in the dugout during the match. KL Rahul, the new T20I vice-captain was seen sitting on Rohit’s side well. 

KL Rahul watches as Rohit Sharma hits Mohammed Siraj in the head

In the video which was seen on Twitter, head coach Dravid was seen sitting and chatting with the batting coach Vikram Rathour. Just behind the duo, Rohit was sitting alongside Siraj and Rahul. The three players were looking elsewhere when suddenly, Rahul and Rohit turned to Siraj with the skipper launching a hit for the pacer. By looking at the clip, we can assume that it was all banter and nothing serious was part of the conversation. In fact, Siraj was himself seen smiling. 

Speaking about the match, the Blackcaps, who recently played in the final of the Men’s T20 World Cup, in 2021 batted first. Martin Guptill scored 70 runs from 42 balls while Mark Chapman made 63 runs from 50 balls. Their contributions helped the New Zealand team reach a total of 164 for six in their 20 overs. 

Siraj, who played a T20I match after quite some time, took one wicket but was slightly expensive with the ball, giving away 39 runs from his four overs. Rahul and Rohit once again got India to a flying start, though Rahul fell for 15 runs from 14 balls. Rohit went on to score 48 runs from 36 balls setting up the run chase. Suryakumar Yadav’s 40-ball 62 was a masterclass in itself as India ended up chasing the total in 19.4 overs with five wickets in their bank. The two teams will now play the second T20I in Ranchi on November 19.