On Wednesday, India drew first blood by defeating New Zealand by nine wickets in the opening T20I in Jaipur. It was Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav who played crucial roles in the win.
India avoided an upset and pulled off a thrilling five-wicket win over New Zealand in the opening Twenty20 International (T20I) at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on Sunday. Rohit Sharma (48) and Suryakumar Yadav's (62) splendid twin innings played a pivotal role in the win, as the host did so with just a couple of balls to spare.
Winning the toss, Indian skipper Rohit opted to bat, while all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer was handed his debut. Also, Kiwi skipper Tim Southee made some changes from the side that played the ICC T20 World Cup final against Australia on Sunday. NZ lost Daryl Mitchell (0) to seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the opening over, with just a run on the board.
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However, fellow opener Martin Guptill (70) and Mark Chapman (63) contributed to an impressive 109-run stand for the second wicket. At the same time, the latter scored his second T20I half-century in the process before off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin cleaned him up in the 14th over. The veteran also trapped Glenn Phillips (0) leg-before in the same over, while Guptill brought up his 19th T20I 50.
At 150, Guptill was dismissed by pacer Deepak Chahar in the 18th. At this moment, the Indian bowlers began to bounce back, as three runs later, Tim Seifert (12) fell to Bhuvneshwar in the 19th, followed by Rachin Ravindra (7), who was knocked over by pacer Mohammed Siraj in the final over, as the Kiwis finished on 164/6.
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The Indians put five bowlers into the attack, with Bhuvneshwar and Ashwin claiming a couple each, while the latter was the most economical of all. In reply, India was off to a furious start, openers KL Rahul (15) and Rohit putting up a 50-run partnership before the former fell prey to spinner Mitchell Santner in the sixth over of the Powerplay, with 50 runs on the board.
Then, Rohit and Suryakumar put on a robust 59-run stand for the second wicket to keep India going steady with the chase and place it in the driver's seat before the former fell to pacer Trent Boult in the 14th. At 144, the latter was cleaned up by the same man in the 17th. It was here when things started to get a little tense for India.
While 11 runs later, Shreyas Iyer (5) fell to pacer Southee in the 19th, at 160, in the final over, Venkatesh Iyer (4) departed to pacer Daryl Mitchell after hitting a boundary off his maiden delivery. Although it was ten off the last six, Rishabh Pant (17*) struck the winning four, as India drew first blood.
The Kiwis utilised six bowlers, with Boult claiming a couple, while Santner was decently economical.
Brief scores: NZ 164/4 (Guptill- 70, Champan- 63; Ashwin- 2/23) lost to India 166/5 in 19.4 overs (Rohit-48, Yadav- 62; Boult- 2/31) by five wickets.
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