The third T20I of the five-match series between New Zealand and India was played at the Seddon Park in Hamilton. India came into this match 2-0 up and Kane Williamson’s side needed to win this bout to stay alive in the series.
New Zealand bowled first after Kane Williamson won the toss. The home side brought in Scott Kuggeleijn, while India went in unchanged. Indian openers gave the team a good start, adding 89 runs for the 1st wicket. KL Rahul fell for 27, while Rohit went onto make 65 in 40 balls with 5 fours and 3 sixes. He also went past 10,000 runs as an opener in international cricket during his
Shivam Dube could muster only 3 runs after being promoted to no.3, but Kohli got 38 and with Iyer’s 17, Pandey’s 14* and Jadeja’s unbeaten 10 runs, India got to 179/5 in 20 overs. For New Zealand, Hamish Bennett was the pick of the bowlers with 3/54, while Santner and De Grandhomme got a wicket apiece.
New Zealand’s chase started well with Guptill (34) and Munro (14) adding 47 runs. But it was Kane Williamson, whose 95 off 48 balls with 8 fours and 6 sixes, kept the Kiwis in the chase. Ross Taylor made 17 runs as well. It all came down to 9 runs in the last over and Taylor hit the first ball by Shami for a six. But then Shami kept his cool and dismissed Taylor on the last ball, tying the match.
For India, Thakur (2/14) and Shami (2/32) were the best bowlers, with Bumrah (45 runs) having an off day.
Super Over
Both teams went into Super Over, with Kane Williamson and Martin Guptill opened for New Zealand, with Jasprit Bumrah bowling for India. Kane Williamson hit a six and a four and Guptill hit a four to make it 17 runs off the Bumrah over, ending a terrible night for him.
India needed 18 runs to win the Super Over, which was their very first in T20Is. Rohit Sharma survived a runout chance off the first ball. Rahul hit a four off the 3rd ball by Southee, leaving Rohit to get 10 off the last two.
Rohit, who had earlier hit a half-century, smoked the last two balls out of the ground to ensure India won the Super Over and also pocketed the series 2-1, with two matches to go. It is their first-ever T20I series win over New Zealand in New Zealand.
Cricket fraternity was abuzz with excitement after such a nail-biting cricket match and they posted their wishes on Twitter.
Here are the tweets:
