Jasprit Bumrah gives India another injury scare after twisting his ankle in first T20I against New Zealand

New Zealand batsmen made full use of the batting conditions that were on offer during the first Twenty-20 International (T20I) against India as they slammed 203/5 in their innings at the Eden Park in Auckland on Friday.

All the Indian bowlers suffered a similar kind of fate as Kane Williamson & Co. hammered them all over. While all the bowlers took a beating of more than 8 runs an over, Jasprit Bumrah was at his usual best and was the most economical bowler from the Indian bowling line-up.

Meanwhile, team India had an injury scare in the final over of the New Zealand innings when Bumrah twisted his ankle soon after delivering the second ball of the over. The Indian physio came running to the ground but to everyone’s relief, the pacer got up on his feet and completed the over in full swing.

The 26-year-old recently marked his return to international cricket after recovering from an injury. And thus, though his injury on Friday did not look serious, one can’t be sure if there is anything to worry or not as in this type of cases the problem often arises afterwards.

Jasprit Bumrah has emerged as India’s bowling mainstay

Bumrah, who has risen through the ranks to become India’s premier bowler in all formats, was out of action since September last year due to a stress fracture. He made a comeback in the home T20I series against Sri Lanka in December.

On cricketing front, New Zealand set India a commendable target of 204 after Colin Munro, Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor scored half-centuries. Munro and Martin Guptill gave the Blackcaps a brisk start as they added 80 runs for the first wicket in less than eight overs.

But as Guptill departed after playing a 19-ball knock of 30 runs, Munro (59 off 42) also followed him soon after. Colin de Grandhomme did not bother the scorers. With 117/3 and seven overs left, the two best Kiwi batsmen took over the reins of their team.

Williamson and Ross Taylor added 61 runs in 28 deliveries for the fourth wicket as both the batsmen completed their half-centuries. While Williamson made his 10th T20I fifty, Taylor scored his first T20I fifty since 2014. After the Blackcaps captain’s wicket, Taylor continued with his onslaught and helped the home team cross 200 and set India a fighting target at Auckland.

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