India vs New Zealand 2017, 3rd T20I: The Gully-Cricket Treat To Savour On A Pedestal

Whatever might be the conditions, whenever one will need to highlight Indian bowling’s prime, it has to be the India vs New Zealand 2017, 3rd T20I. On a damp pitch, the struggles of dew in the second innings and in a match which was reduced to 8 overs due to rain, there is nothing like respectable total and when India gave a target of 68 runs, it seemed that New Zealand will finally lift their first trophy of the tour.

However, it was the disciplined spells of Jasprit Bumrah (2-9-2), Bhuvneshwar Kumar (2-18-1) and Yuzvendra Chahal (2-8-0) that took the hosts to an unbelievable victory which had nothing but thrill written all over it.

While India had the disadvantage of bowling in the second innings they also had to deceive New Zealand batsmen who got a fair idea about the pitch in the first innings. But the Indian bowling trio seemed formidable and surprised the visitors leading to a panic in their batting order as singles was what they had to do with while chasing 68 runs.

While the plan revolved around hitting big, Colin de Grandhomme (17) was the only player who seemed to have entered the pitch with a perfect mindset, while his teammates hovered around a strike rate of 100 and the opening pair of Martin Guptill and Colin Munro getting dismissed in the space of four balls.

In the end, with 29 runs needed in the last two overs, thanks to Chahal’s discipline in the previous six ball where he conceded just 3 runs, it was mission impossible for New Zealand as they lost the match by 6 runs at the end of their 8 overs, while losing the series 2-1.

That said, the record-breaking spree by the hosts also continued after the India vs New Zealand 2017, 3rd T20I and here are some statistical highlights from the match.

• This was MS Dhoni‘s 256th victory with team India, only Sachin Tendulkar has featured in more international wins for the nation.

• The India vs New Zealand T20I series is only the second fixture in which the chasing side lost all the three matches. The first time was during the Pakistan-England series in 2012.

• India has now won all the four bilateral T20I deciders they have played beating Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe in 2016, followed by England and New Zealand in 2017. India has also won the third T20I in a three-match series on all five occasions.

• Virat Kohli (186) now sits on the fifth place in the list of most international wins for India.

• Since 2016, team India has won all seven deciders played in limited-overs series, out of which three were ODIs and four T20Is.

Everything said and done, India will now host Sri Lanka in all the three formats and from what we have deduced from the India vs New Zealand series, the opening pair needs to be consistent with partnerships and the middle-order needs some serious refreshments, while the bowling attack seems indispensable at the moment.