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India's Eden
Rohit Sharma-led side beats New Zealand by 73 runs in third T20I to win series 3-0
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migrator
migrator
Kolkata
India completed a comprehensive victory over New Zealand by 73 runs in the final T20I to clinch the three-match series 3-0. Set to chase 185, New Zealand was skittled out for 111 in 17.2 overs
Right from winning the toss, India didn’t put a foot wrong backed up by an all-around dominant performance from both its batters and bowlers. New Zealand batting crumbled in the face of disciplined bowling with left-arm spinner Axar Patel taking three for nine. Martin Guptill was the lone batter to offer some resistance scoring a quick 51 but everyone else failed miserably to hasten their doom.
Earlier, Rohit Sharma’s imperious form was on full display as he laid the platform for an above-par score of 184.
In his bid to test the team’s character by batting first, the skipper led the way with a 56 off 31 balls with five fours and three sixes but despite a blazing start, the Indians stuttered in the middle overs before Harshal Patel (18 off 11 balls) and Deepak Chahar (21 not out off 8 balls) used their long handles which fetched 50 runs in last five overs.
Ishan Kishan (29 off 21 balls), Shreyas Iyer (25 off 20 balls) and Venkatesh Iyer (20 off 15 balls) all got starts but couldn’t convert it into a big score.
Having got two flashy back-to-back boundaries off the very first over by Trent Boult, there was no looking back for Rohit.
There was no preferential treatment as all the fast bowlers were treated with equal disdain as he andÂ
Kishan made full use of the Powerplay overs, which yielded 69 runs.
Rohit pulled Boult behind square for his first six and hit Adam Milne (1/47 in 4 overs) over long-on for the second maximum and the third off Lockie Ferguson was another pull behind the square into the stand below the giant electronic scoreboard.
Post Powerplay, stand-in captain Mitchell Santner (4-0-27-3) was able to pull things back as Kishan edged an arm ball into the keeper’s gloves while Suryakumar Yadav (0) played a loose shot to a tossed up delivery giving an easy catch to the cover, much to the irritation of his skipper.
Rohit’s frustration was compounded when Rishabh Pant went for an ugly hoick to give Santner his third wicket in his second over.
But Rohit didn’t allow the fall of wickets to bog him down as he got his fifty with a deliberate cut through the vacant third-man area off his opposite number.
BRIEF SCORES: India 184/7 in 20 overs (R Sharma 56, M Santner 3/27) bt New Zealand 111 in 17.2 overs (M Guptill 51, A Patel 3/9)
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