New Zealand batsmen did not work
The Indian bowlers made an amazing start and New Zealand had lost five wickets for 15 runs in the 11th over. Shami (3/18) and Mohammed Siraj (1/10) made it difficult for the batsmen to score runs with their excellent seam bowling on a bowler-friendly pitch. The ball was stopping, which made it difficult for the batsmen to add single runs. Opener Phil Allen could not even open the account and missed Shami’s full length ball which went uprooting his stumps.
Then Siraj’s ball reached the hands of Shubman Gill by taking the edge of the bat of number three batsman Henry Nicholls. Brilliant return catches by Shami and Hardik Pandya (2/16) again put New Zealand in more trouble. Shami dismissed Daryl Mitchell on his own ball. On the other hand, in the 10th over, Hardik’s catch of Devon Conway on his own ball with one hand was excellent. Shardul Thakur (1/26) also managed to grab a wicket when his ball took the edge of Tom Latham’s bat and went into the hands of Shubman Gill.
Lower order saved the shame
New Zealand were in trouble but last match’s centurion Michael Bracewell (22 runs) was at the crease and there was hope. Along with him, the equally dangerous Glenn Phillips (36 runs) was also at the crease. Shami bowled a sharp bouncer in the 19th over after hitting Bracewell for consecutive fours and the ball touched the bat and went into the hands of wicketkeeper Ishan Kishan. Mitchell Santner (27 runs) was again at the crease with Phillips.
Both of them shared a 47-run partnership for the seventh wicket to take the team past 100 runs. However, both of them were dismissed within six balls, ending New Zealand’s hopes of a comeback. Phillips caught Suryakumar Yadav off the ball of Washington Sundar (two wickets). Kuldeep Yadav (one wicket) dismissed Blair Tickner at number 11 to end New Zealand’s innings in 34.3 overs.
Rohit hit Fifty
Captain Rohit Sharma once again got the Indian team off to a brisk start. While Shubman Gill, who scored a double century in the last match, Rohit hit Lockie Ferguson’s fast-paced boundary for a six in the 5th over. He completed his fifty in 47 balls in the 13th over. After scoring 51 off 50 balls, Rohit was lbw to Shipley. In his innings, the Indian captain hit 7 fours and 2 sixes. In the last 5 matches, the pair of Rohit and Gill made a partnership of 50+ for the fourth time.
After the dismissal of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli came to the crease. He once again became the victim of Mitchell Santner. Kohli was stumped after scoring 11 runs off 9 balls. Ishaan Kishan (8 not out) along with Shubman Gill (40 not out) took the team to the target. The last match of the series will be played in Indore on 24 January.
IND vs NZ: Hardik Pandya, who came in the middle of a dashing shot, caught the catch with one hand, everyone was surprised!
Source: navbharattimes.indiatimes.com
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