Top 5 T20Is of 2017

#2 India vs New Zealand – Thiruvananthapuram

Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson before the match

New Zealand toured India for a short limited-overs series (3 ODIs and 3 T20Is). They played exceptionally well, running India close in the ODI series which they lost 2-1. Then, after suffering a defeat in the first T20I, they came storming back to level the series 1-1 with a crushing 40-run victory.

The decider was to be played at Thiruvananthapuram. Rain though decided to play spoilsport and reduced the game to an 8-over affair. The Blackcaps won a crucial toss and opted to field first, bowling superbly to keep India down to 67/5 in their allotted 8 overs. None of the Indian batsmen got going as they tried to hit out from the first ball on a rather sticky pitch.

A target of 68 in 8 overs wasn’t a huge one, but it was a tricky surface to bat on as the ball was holding up. The Kiwis could only get to 26/2 in the first 4 overs. However, things turned drastically when India got two wickets off two balls – first, Kane Williamson was run-out and then the well-set Glenn Phillips followed him to the hut and suddenly the Kiwis were 28/4.

But Colin de Grandhomme kept the visitors in the hunt with crucial boundaries. With 32 required off 3 overs, Yuzvendra Chahal bowled a brilliant over, conceding only 3 runs. Bumrah gave away 10 runs in the penultimate over to bring it down to 19 off the final over. Hardik Pandya was entrusted with bowling the last six balls. He started off well by giving only 1 run off his first two deliveries, but a six (by de Grandhomme) and a wide put the pressure back on India (bringing the equation down to 11 off 3).

However, Pandya held his nerve and India completed a 2-1 series win (their first over New Zealand in T20Is) with a 6-run victory. Jasprit Bumrah was awarded the Man of the Match for his splendid bowling performance.

Brief Scores: India 67 for 5 (Manish Pandey 17, Hardik Pandya 14, Southee 2-13, Ish Sodhi 2/23) beat New Zealand 61 for 6 (de Grandhomme 17*, Jasprit Bumrah 2-9, Kuldeep Yadav 1/10)