Wellington: A below-par India slumped to their worst ever defeat in T20 Internationals (T20I) as New Zealand outclassed the visitors in all departments to win the first match of the three-game series by a comprehensive 80-run margin here Wednesday.
Batting first, unheralded keeper-batsman Tim Seifert (84, 43b, 7×4, 6×6) took the Indian bowling apart as New Zealand posted a commanding 219 for six.
With the crack opening pair of skipper Rohit Sharma (1) and Shikhar Dhawan (29) departing within the power play overs, the chase became a difficult one and India were all out for 139 in 19.2 overs.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni (39, 31b, 5×4, 1×6) did play his part but it was always an impossible chase with wickets falling at regular intervals at the other end. India had never lost a T20 International by 50 or more runs prior to this match. India’s previous worst was a 49-run loss to Australia back in 2010.
“We failed to get a good partnership. A 200-plus total was never going to be easy to chase,” said Rohit in the post-match presentation.
New Zealand bowlers kept the pressure on Indian batsmen, especially the two spinners – left-arm orthodox Mitchell Santner (2/24) and leg-spinner Ish Sodhi (2/26). Senior pacer Tim Southee (3/17) had the best figures among the bowlers and the best delivery of the match was bowled by Lockie Ferguson (2/22), who yorked Dhawan.
On a pitch where Indian spinners Yuzvendra Chahal (1/35) and Krunal (1/37) went for plenty, the Black Caps slow bowlers literally tightened the noose on the visitors.
While Rishabh Pant didn’t do his chances any good, all-rounder Vijay Shankar (27, 17b, 2×4, 2×6) impressed during his little cameo but would need to do more in order to book a place in that World Cup bound squad.
The Pandya bothers – Krunal and Hardik – endured a contrasting day. While Krunal (20) had an okay outing, Hardik would quickly like to forget the nightmare (2/51 and 4 runs) before India play the second match of the series Friday in Auckland.
Earlier, Seifert, whose previous best score in T20s was only 14, was promoted to open alongside Colin Munro (34, 20b, 2×4, 2×6) and they put on 86 runs in only 8.2 overs in a whirlwind start.
With Munro hitting Khaleel Ahmed (1/48) for two successive sixes, New Zealand were off to a blazing start scoring 44 off the first four overs. Seifert however, was lucky to survive when Dhoni dropped a sharp chance after the batsman had edged one off Krunal.
However, it was Hardik who was marked out for special treatment. He drifted on the leg stump and he was flicked behind square and when he pitched wide outside off-stump, he was lofted over the cover point region. In Hardik’s next over, Seifert again hit the bowler for a boundary and a flicked six.
The elder Pandya finally got a breakthrough when Munro was caught in the deep off Vijay Shankar. But Seifert never let the momentum drop and hit two more sixes off Krunal, who just kept on pushing the ball through a flatter trajectory.
After Seifert’s dismissal Kiwi skipper Kane Williamson (34, 22b, 3×6), Ross Taylor (23, 14b, 2×6) and debutant Scott Kuggleijn (20, 7b, 3×4, 1×6) kept the momentum going as the hosts powered past the 200-run mark.
Brief scores: New Zealand: 219/6 (Tim Seifert 84, Kane Williamson 34, Hardik Pandya 2/51) beat India139 in 19.2 overs (M S Dhoni 39, Shikhar Dhawan 29, Vijay Shankar 27, Tim Southee 3/17, Mitchell Santner 2/24, Ish Sodhi 2/26) by 80 runs.
Agencies