IND vs NZ, 3. T20I Kolkatan: India has run 73 New Zealand to whitewash T20I series

India stripped New Zealand in the T20I series after a third run of 73 games at Eden Gardens here on Sunday.

Enlightened Eden is the delight of cricket. And the return of the fans, even at 70 percent, injected fresh energy into an otherwise dead rubber. Each boundary and a wicket were guarded, regardless of who was hit. The singing of the spectators lifted the spirits of the Indian players as they canceled out the dew to discard the cheap Black Caps within 111 17.2 overs.

IT HAPPENED

Behind the 185 goal, Martin Guptill (51, 36b; 4×4, 4×6) was the only kiwi batsman to ask questions in powerplay. Wicket’s stay was cut short by leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal, who celebrated his return with 1/26 figures on his four-footer. Suryakumar Yadav caught the big man long-on.

Axar Patel of the left arm caused damage early on with a quick elimination of Daryll Mitchell (5, 6b, 1×4), Mark Chapman (0, 2b) and Glenn Phillips (0, 4b) in a row.

Harshal Patel caught Mitchell at the cover point while Rishabh Pant stumped Chapman with Phillips bowling. The Kiwis were unable to recover from 69 out of four. Ishan Kishan made two knockouts — Tim Seifert (17, 18b, 1×4) and Mitchell Santner (2, 4b) to keep the visitor out of the game.

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Rohit show

After chasing the first two games, the Indian captain Rohit decided to make a first one to assess how his players would react. It is known for its calculating approach, and it’s no surprise that star-studded eggs have made the most of the T20I series.

The second fifty in the Rohit series (56, 31b, 5×4, 3×6) set the tone for the host. Kishan, who replaced KL Rahul, played 29 off 21 with six fours.

The captain broke the first six in the third inning. Trent Boult tapped his left arm to find the top edge of the master puller. The ball went over the short limit. Lockie Ferguson picked up two more six, including 20 runs in the sixth, as India finished the powerplay in 69/0.

New Zealand captain Santner put the black caps into play by removing Kishan and Suryakumar in the seventh. Kishan’s attempted cutting failed against the submission. The ball touched his shovel before he found refuge in Tim Seifert’s gloves, behind the mounds. Guptille caught Suryakumar (0, 4b) on the extra cover.

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Rohit continued to play his shots across the park and reached fifty on 27 balls. Virat Kohli surpassed the T20Is by scoring 50+ in the 30th time. The batsman also joined the 150 clubs in the Six. Ish Sodhi’s dismissal in the atmosphere of the leg put a sad end to a horrible blow.

Shreyas Iyer (25, 20b, 2×4), Venkatesh Iyer (20, 15b, 1×4, 1×6) and later Deepak Chahar (21 *, 8b, 2×4, 1×6) rescued India in the lower middle order after Santner sent a little scare to Pant (4 , 6b) Neesham caught long-on in the ninth.

It was the day of the left arm spinner, as Santner and Axar received three wickets. But India will be proud of Venkatesh’s performance. The Indian Premier League star of the Kolkata Knight Riders, who has the same skill set as Hardik Pandya, picked up a wicket that only received 12 runs.

India had its eighth T20I bilateral victory against the Black Caps.