Ishan Kishan put on a batting masterclass as his explosive maiden T20I ton powered India to a huge score and thereby a 46-run win to win series 4-1. Ishan Kishan dominated the New Zealand bowling from the word go and never allowed them a foot in the door. Ishan made 103 off 43 balls after India won the toss and elected to bat first as Suryakumar Yadav made 63 off 30 balls while Hardik Pandya made 42 off 17 balls as Abhishek Sharma made 30 off 16 balls at the top as India amassed 271/5 in 20 overs.
In the chase, Finn Allen’s 80 off 38 balls went in vain as Arshdeep Singh’s 5-wicket haul and Axar Patel’s 3-wicket haul helped India limit New Zealand to 225 in 19.4 overs as the Kiwis put in a brave fight and challenged the Indians but in the end it was a bridge too far as India won the contest by 46 runs to seal series 4-1.
Ishan Kishan’s explosive maiden T20I ton powers India to a massive 271/5
Winning the toss and deciding to bat first, Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson came out to open for India while Jacob Duffy had ball in hand for New Zealand. Abhishek Sharma was quickly off the blocks and got off the mark with a maximum and hit two boundaries as well in the over. Samson got off the mark with a lucky boundary through the third man region. The duo put on 31 for the first wicket inside 3 overs before Samson fell for another low score falling for 6 off 6 balls with one boundary to his name to Lockie Ferguson.
Ishan Kishan came out to bat next. Abhishek continued his merry ways while Ishan got in and played his shots. The duo of Abhishek and Ishan put on 17 runs for the second wicket before Abhishek was cleaned up by Ferguson for 30 off 16 balls with 4 fours and 2 sixes to his name as India were 48/2 in 5 overs. The powerplay score for India was 54/2 in 6 overs.
But what followed post the powerplay was carnage of the highest order Ishan and Surya took their time initially and then tore apart the New Zealand bowlers. It was the Ishan Kishan show as he showed what he is made of while Surya also showed that he has got his mojo back. The duo toyed with the New Zealand bowling who had no answers to the Indian power. The duo aced the middle phase and matched shots for shots and each and every bowler was pummelled.
New Zealand were decent in the field but Phillips did put down Ishan and the ball parried over the ropes for the maximum when he was on 83. The partnership between Ishan and Surya took the game away from New Zealand and laid the platform for India to get a huge total. The duo put on 137 runs off 58 balls with Ishan scoring 71 off those runs while Surya made 63 in the partnership. The score went to 185 in the 15th over before Surya fell for a well made 63 runs off 30 balls with 4 fours and 6 sixes to his name to captain Mitchell Santner.
Hardik Pandya came out to bat next and got off the mark soon. Soon, Hardik started to find the ropes while Ishan completed his memorable maiden T20I ton and what an innings it has been to cement his place in the side. Hardik was off the blocks and showed his finishing prowess. It was Ishan’s moment in Thiruvananthapuram with others playing around him. Kishan and Hardik put on a quickfire 48 runs off 18 balls before Ishan went for a fantabulous 103 off 43 balls with 6 fours and 10 sixes to his name to Jacob Duffy.
Rinku Singh came out to bat next. Hardik was the one getting the big ones towards the end of the game. Hardik and Rinku put on 28 for the 5th wicket before Hardik fell not before playing a fantastic innings at the death overs as he made a breezy 42 off 17 balls with one four and 4 sixes to his name to Kyle Jamieson. Shivam Dube came in with 4 balls to go in the innings. Dube got off the mark.
Jamieson in the final over bowled wides and no balls and the final ball which was a free hit was struck down the ground for the maximum over long-on as India finished with a mammoth 271/5 in 20 overs. Rinku Singh was unbeaten on 8 off 8 balls with one four to his name while Dube was unbeaten on 7 off 2 balls with one six to his name. 12 extras given by the fielding side.
It was a tough day for the New Zealand bowlers with Lockie Ferguson being the pick of the bowlers with figures of 2/41 in 4 overs. The others went for plenty of runs. Jacob Duffy finished with 1/53 in 4 overs. Kyle Jamieson finished with 1/59 in 4 overs. Mitchell Santner finished with 1/60 in 4 overs. Ish Sodhi went for 48 runs in 3 overs. Glenn Phillips bowled an over for 10 runs. It meant New Zealand needed a massive 272 runs to win the contest off 20 overs.
Finn Allen’s 80 goes in vain as Arshdeep Singh’s 5-wicket haul restricts New Zealand to 225 in 19.4 overs
Chasing 272 for the win, keeper batter Tim Seifert came out to open the batting with Finn Allen while Arshdeep Singh had ball in hand for India. New Zealand came out all guns blazing as they had to and scored 17 runs off the first over bowled by Arshdeep. But at the end of the first over, Arshdeep got rid of Seifert for 5 off 3 balls with a boundary to his name as Hardik took the catch at short midwicket.
Rachin Ravindra came out to bat next and started slowly. But then it was the Finn Allen show as he tore apart the Indian bowling on a flat deck. It allowed Ravindra to get himself in before he too switched gears. The powerplay score was 79/1 in 6 overs for New Zealand where India were 54/2 in the same period but the task in hand was huge. The duo put on exactly 100 runs in 8 overs with Allen doing bulk of the scoring. The score went to 117 in 9 overs when Allen fell for a magnificent 80 off 38 balls with 8 fours and 6 sixes to his name. Glenn Phillips came out to bat next.
Ravindra tried his best and hit some lusty blows. The duo of Phillips and Ravindra added 14 runs to the score before Phillips fell for 7 off 6 balls with one boundary to his name to Axar Patel. Daryl Mitchell came out to bat next. Just 6 runs were added to the scoreboard before Ravindra fell for 30 off 17 balls with 2 fours and 2 sixes to his name to Arshdeep Singh. Mitchell Santner came out to bat next. Arshdeep had two wickets in the over as he dismissed the New Zealand skipper Santner for a silver duck. Bevon John Jacobs came out to bat next.
Mitchell and Jacobs put in a stand to keep the fight going as Mitchell was playing his shots and enjoyed himself out there in the middle. The duo put on 29 runs for the 6th wicket before Jacobs fell for 7 off 11 balls with one boundary to his name to Varun Chakaravarthy. Kyle Jamieson came out to bat next. Jamieson and Mitchell then added 13 runs to the scoreboard before Jamieson fell for 9 off 5 balls with 2 fours to his name as he was cleaned up by Arshdeep. Ish Sodhi came out to bat next.
Arshdeep had another in the over as he got a five-wicket haul as he dismissed the last set batter Mitchell for 26 off 12 balls with 2 fours and 2 sixes to his name as Mitchell tried to paddle it away and drag it back onto the stumps. Lockie Ferguson came out to bat next to join Sodhi in the middle. Sodhi started to hit some lusty blows to the fence while Ferguson was there at the other end. The duo added 11 runs for the 9th wicket before Ferguson fell for 3 off 4 balls clean bowled by Axar Patel.
Jacob Duffy came out to bat next with New Zealand 9 down for 191 in 17 overs. Ish Sodhi decided to have some fun out there as the game was sealed by the Indians. Duffy got a lucky boundary while Sodhi took care of Bumrah who had a rare off day tonight. Sodhi targeted the bowlers and got something to cheer about after he was torn apart when he had ball in hand.
The last wicket pair added 34 runs for the final wicket before Sodhi was the last man out for 33 off 15 balls with one four and three sixes to his name to Rinku Singh. Duffy remained unbeaten on 9 off 5 balls with one six to his name as New Zealand were bowled out for 225 in 19.4 overs with 16 extras given by the fielding side.
Arshdeep Singh was the pick of the bowlers for India with figures of 5/51 in 4 overs. Axar Patel bowled well for his 3/33 in 4 overs. Varun Chakaravarthy finished with 1/36 in 4 overs. Rinku Singh bowled 4 balls and finished with 1/7. Hardik Pandya bowled 2 overs for 15 runs. Jasprit Bumrah had a rare off-day as he went for 58 runs in 4 overs. Abhishek Sharma bowled an over for 13 runs. So, India win by 46 runs and win the series 4-1. Ishan Kishan was awarded the Player of the Match. Captain Suryakumar Yadav was awarded the Player of the Series award.
With this, the India-New Zealand series comes to an end with India winning 4-1. Both teams head now to play warm-up games before the World Cup starting on 7th February. India plays USA on February 7th while New Zealand plays Afghanistan on February 8th in Chennai. So, a lot to look forward to as the World Cup draws near.
Also Read: IND VS NZ: Ishan Kishan’s Explosive Maiden T20I Ton Powers India To 271/5.