Hamilton: India skipper Virat Kohli said New Zealand deserved to win the third T20 International after India prevailed in the Super Over to take an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series here Wednesday.
Rohit Sharma smashed consecutive sixes in the final two balls of the Super Over to lead India to their maiden T20 series win in New Zealand following a nerve-wracking finish.
Needing 18 off six balls in the Super Over, India managed 10 off the first four balls. Rohit then smacked two sixes – one over mid-wicket and another over long off – to help India pull off a nail-biter.
“I thought we were gone at one stage. I told our coach that they deserved to win. The way Kane (Williamson) was batting, on 95. Feel bad for him; I know what it’s like to play those knocks when things don’t go your way. On the last ball, we had a discussion and we came to a conclusion that we had to hit the stumps,” the India captain said after the game.
With the series in pocket, the India skipper hinted that he will try out his bench strength in the remaining two games.
“It’s important to give a couple of the others some game time as well. We want to see how they do in these conditions, someone like Washington Sundar, or (Navdeep) Saini,” Kohli said.
Williamson rued his side’s misfortune with Super Overs and said the Black Caps need to try and finish off things in regulation time.
“Super Overs haven’t been too good for us, so we probably need to try and do better in regular time,” said Williamson.
“(But) It was a much better performance all round. We fought back well with the ball after their start. Both sides maximised the slightly shorter side towards the scoreboard,” Williamson added.
Williamson, however, didn’t hide his disappointment, saying New Zealand need to learn from their Indian counterparts on how to win ‘big moments’ of a match.
“retty disappointing, losing after an effort like that, but it’s a game of small margins,” he said. “Throughout the three games, we’ve seen India, with their experience, stand up in the big moments, and we must learn from them,” asserted Williamson.
Agencies
