3 takeaways from Team India's T20I series win against New Zealand

Team India crushed New Zealand by 168 runs in the third T20I at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Wednesday, February 1. The Men in Blue batted first after winning the toss in the decider, posting a mammoth total of 234/4. Opener Shubman Gill top-scored with 126* off 63 balls, while Rahul Tripathi chipped in with a swift 44 off only 22 deliveries.

The Kiwis never got going in the chase and stumbled to 66 all-out in 12.1 overs. Team India captain Hardik Pandya led from the front with figures of 4/16, while Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik, and Shivam Mavi picked up two wickets apiece. With the dominating performance, India completed yet another bilateral series win at home.

The Men in Blue began the T20I series against New Zealand in disappointing fashion, going down in Ranchi by 21 runs. After an unconvincing win on a tough batting surface in Lucknow, they brought out their A-game in the decider.

Here's a look at three takeaways for Team India following their triumph over New Zealand in the T20I series.

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#1 Shubman Gill can be an all-format player

Shubman Gill has been in terrific form for Team India lately. Pic: BCCI

Before the T20I series against New Zealand, Gill demonstrated stupendous form in ODIs. The Team India opener smashed 70, 21, and 116 against Sri Lanka, and followed it up with 208, 40*, and 112 versus the Kiwis. Gill proved his ODI credentials last year as well, winning Player of the Series awards in West Indies and Zimbabwe.

The 23-year-old has given enough glimpses of his talent in red-ball cricket too. However, heading into the Ahmedabad T20I, there were some question marks over his ability in the shortest format of international cricket. Gill made his T20I debut against Sri Lanka at the Wankhede Stadium. He registered scores of seven, five, and 46 in the three-match series.

In the first two games against New Zealand, he was again dismissed cheaply, for seven and 11, respectively. The soft mode of dismissals also led to some criticism. However, Gill proved his point in emphatic fashion in the deciding T20I. For those who had concerns over his big-hitting ability and strike rate in the format, the right-handed batter slammed 12 fours and seven sixes, finishing with a strike rate of exactly 200.

One knock may not be enough to draw a conclusion about Gill’s T20I skills. However, he has given enough indication to experts and fans that he can be India’s next all-format batter.

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#2 Ishan Kishan’s got some work to do

Ishan Kishan’s form is a cause for concern. Pic: Getty Images

While Gill seems to be going from strength to strength, the same cannot be said about Ishan Kishan. There was some criticism of the Indian team management when Kishan was dropped from the playing XI in favor of Gill for the ODIs against Sri Lanka despite the keeper-batter scoring a double hundred in his previous ODI innings against Bangladesh in Chattogram.

Kishan, though, will have no reason to complain as he has disappointed despite being given a long enough run in T20Is. In 14 innings since his last half-century in the format, he has scored only 200 runs at an average of 14.28, with a best of 37. In his last five T20I innings, he has crossed double figures only once.

Apart from his inconsistency, Kishan’s obvious struggles against spinners are a growing cause for concern. He is young and extremely talented without a doubt and definitely has the ability to overcome the rut. However, the last few games have given a strong indication that Kishan’s batting is very much a work in progress.

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#3 Keep expecting the unexpected from Hardik Pandya as Team India captain

Team India skipper Hardik Pandya celebrates with his boys. Pic: BCCI

There is still no official confirmation over whether Pandya will be India’s full-time T20I captain. But one thing is for sure, whenever he leads the team, he will come up with something unconventional more often than not. We saw some hints in the series against Sri Lanka, where he gave left-arm spinner Axar Patel the 20th over in one match and rookie Shivam Mavi in another.

The New Zealand series gave further proof that captain Pandya will do things his own way, and it will mostly be the opposite of what is expected. In Ahmedabad, experts backed the team winning the toss to bowl first. Even New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner admitted that he would have bowled first. However, Pandya decided to take the first strike and his team backed him with a stupendous all-round performance.

Of course, there will be days when his eccentric tactics backfire. But that is unlikely to stop him from taking risks. In the Team India captain’s own words after the Ahmedabad triumph:

“I have a simple rule - if I go down, I will go down on my terms.”

That one line pretty much sums up Pandya’s captaincy mantra.

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