India break T20 Kiwi jinx with 53-run victory
New Delhi: Farewells do not always have fairytale endings… ask two of the greatest legends of the game Sunil Gavaskar and Clive Lloyd… and they will be the first to vouch for the statement. But speedster Ashish Nehra’s farewell game did have a happy ending as India finally broke their losing jinx against New Zealand at the Feroz Shah Kotla here Wednesday.
As placards of ‘We love you Nehra ji (a name coined by Virender Sehwag), we will miss you Nehra ji’ made their presence felt at the ground, the left-arm pacer came to bowl the 20th over in the New Zealand innings. No, Nehra did not get any wickets; he was close though on a couple of occasions. But more importantly, he will always be mentioned when India’s maiden T20 victory over New Zealand is talked about. It couldn’t have been better for a man who went under the knife to continue a career which had started way back in 1999. Fittingly he was shouldered off the ground by skipper Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan – Delhi players who had come into the state side when Nehra was an established cricketer.
India ultimately beat New Zealand by 53 runs to go one up in the three-match T20 series. Powered on by a record stand of 158 runs between openers Shikhar Dhawan (80, 52b, 10×4, 2×6) and Rohit Sharma (80, 55b, 6×4, 4×6) India put up 202 for the loss of three wickets before restricting the visitors to 149 for eight in 20 overs.
The Kiwis were never in the chase losing wickets at regular intervals. Except for skipper Kane Williamson (28, 24b, 1×4, 1×6), Tom Latham (39, 36b, 3×4, 1×6) and Mitchell Santner (27 n o, 14b, 2×4, 2×6), none of the others looked equipped enough to challenge the Indian pacers and spinners. Leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal (2/26) and left-arm spinner Axar Patel (2/20) were once more outstanding while Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya picked up one wicket each to stifle the Kiwi chase whenever they looked like upping the ante.
Earlier, both Rohit and Dhawan were at their imperious best after being given reprieves by the butter-fingered New Zealand fielders. Dhawan as usual was strong square off the wicket on both sides, while ‘hitman’ Rohit, a bit slow to start hammered the opposition bowlers once he got his eyes in. Some of the drives he played against Ish Sodhi (2/25) were really pleasing and a shot-arm jab off Trent Boult that sailed into the gallery was simply awesome.
But all those faded into the oblivion as Nehra took the ground for one last time in his career. His teammates couldn’t have certainly given him a better farewell.
‘Finally my body will Be at peace’
Having endured much pain in his 18-year-long injury-littered yet successful career, Ashish Nehra said Wednesday that his body will be at peace as he bid adieu to international career here.
“I will miss all this definitely. That’s what you train for. One thing which will be at peace will be my body. I said earlier that I can go a couple more years, but there can’t be a better time to walk away,” Nehra said after his swansong game in international cricket.
“I must be the one bowler who sent down the last over most number of times for India. But those times were different. There was no pressure today,” he added.
Nehra said the game has changed a lot since he started playing. “I played my first game here in 1997. The rules have changed and so many runs are being scored. But whatever happens, this team is here to stay. The future of Indian cricket is in safe hands for the next six-seven years,” Nehra asserted.
Nehra said there are few moments that define cricketers and such moments also create ther image. “I have played under many different people, but it has been a memorable journey. I was telling Viru (Virender Sehwag) also this; he scored so many runs, but people still call him ‘Multan ka Sultan’, so you are remembered for a particular moment,” Nehra added.
Nehra stopped playing Test cricket many years back but he has no regrets. “I last played Test cricket when I was 24 or 25, but at the end, to have played for 18 years and to be here standing in blue clothes and to have played my final match, I could not have asked for anything more. I have no regrets. I am always happy, retired or otherwise,” the pacer signed off.
DDCA honours Nehra
Paying a tribute to the retiring Ashish Nehra, the Delhi District Cricket Association (DDCA) named Wednesday one of the playing ends at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium after the veteran seamer. Nehra thus became only the second bowler in international cricket, after England paceman James Anderson, to bowl from his own end. This will be only for a day, though, it was learnt. Earlier, at the toss, India skipper Virat Kohli also paid tribute to the seamer whose 18-year-old international career by presenting him with a memento.
