The commentary is not available for this match. Please check the scorecard for latest updates.
The Rohit-Rahul partnership works for Team India at the top of the order. The Indians will want the same partnership to work in the management group as well. As the new head coach rightly said, Team India needs to stay grounded as it was not the biggest of series victories given the conditions it was played in, three days after the T20 World Cup in extremely hot conditions. That was it from me (Sameer Deodhar) and my colleague Balashankar from the third T20I.
We will be back with the first Test from Kanpur from Thursday, November 25! Don't forget to tune in to Sportskeeda! Until then, take care and good bye!
Rohit Sharma is the man of the series for 159 runs in 3 matches
Rohit Sharma: We started well, that has always been the mindset for me. Once you get the eye into the pitch, you know what to do. The ball was coming nicely onto the bat and it was good with the dew coming in early. There is room for improvement in the middle order. KL Rahul missed out today, but his form has been really good in recent times. The spinners were exceptional with Axar and Ashwin bowling well and Chahal coming back really well. Also happy with the way Venkatesh Iyer bowled. Teams around the world bat deep till numbers 8 and 9. We've seen Harshal open for Haryana and also Deepak the way he has batted in Sri Lanka. (On the pull shot) I have played on concrete pitches earlier in the day, once I started things started to change. I've practiced these shots a lot, some days it works, some days it doesn't. It is necessary to back the certain strength and it will start paying off some day
Axar Patel is the man of the match for 3/9 in 3 overs
Axar Patel: I have changed a few variations. Whenever the batters used to go after me, I used to vary pace which I have been practicing in the nets. I have learned to read what the batter is trying to do and have put it to effect. There was a bit of help for the slower bowlers in the pitch so I was just trying to hit the right areas. Want to take the confidence forward.
Mitchell Santner: Obviously, it's tough to predict the dew. India bowled well at the top. Axar picking three wickets, it's always tough to come back. India played well throughout the series. We were a little bit off. We came up against a really good Indian side. There were periods in every game where we did well. The pessure they put on was pretty tough. The starts from KL (Rahul) and Rohit at the top made it tough for us. (Kane Williamson) He is a great player for us. The schedule being tight, going into Tests, it is understandable. Gives opportunity to other players. With another World Cup coming up in 11 months, we need to be looking ahead. India is a tough side to beat in these conditions and it really showed. Guptill batting at the top, his form was a positive. Diff guys stepping up at different points. Chapman getting fifty in the first game. It’s challenging as a spinner with dew. It was very wet second game. Ashwin and Aar adapted well, keeping it back of a length and not allowing us to have a go. We don't get dew in New ZealandGets experience. There may be World Cups in the future in here, so it will play a part.
Rahul Dravid (India Head Coach): I think it was a really good series win. It's nice to start but we need to be realistic. We need to keep our feet on the ground. It's not easy for New Zealand to show up after a World Cup final within three days or play three games in six days. We have to keep our feet on the ground and learn some things on the way forward. We gave opportunities to some guys who haven't played a lot of cricket in the last few months. We need to keep developing those skills going forward. It's great to see that we have got options. It's going to be a long season between now and the next World Cup. We have to be realistic with how much cricket some of our experienced players will play. There are only three or four guys from here going on to Kanpur for the Tests. We have asked them to have an early night. They will need to be up at 7:30 am for the coming week or so. Maybe the other guys can have a late-night and enjoy themselves.
Harshal Patel: My skillset is not going to change overnight. I have had success doing the things I do. I tried to do the things that have made me successful in the IPL. Execution is a big part of the slower delivery because if you get it wrong, more often than not it will sail over the boundary. If you are not feeling confident, I go back to the nets and work on it. But it's a delivery I bank on.
Ishan Kishan: He (Trent Boult) got me out in the World Cup. So I was expecting the same ball on my pads and I hit it. The coach and captain asked me to do the same thing, whatever has worked for me, whatever I have done in the IPL. I just watch the ball and hit the ball hard. The coach said to just go and play your shots.
Venkatesh Iyer: I think that's what I am in the team for (batting and bowling). So it's good to get a bowl. I think everyone aspires to play for the country. So when you win it's a great feeling. (On batting in the middle-order) I have always maintained that, as a professional cricketer, you have to be flexible about where you bat.
Yuzvendra Chahal: After two overs, I realized my drift was taking the ball to the leg side. So I tried to move the ball from off stump or the fourth stump. It won't be easy for him (Martin Guptill) to go from there to long-on. I was working on my googlies and top-spinners. Bowling more of them is helping me to confuse the batsmen.
INDIA WIN BY 73 RUNS AND COMPLETE THE WHITEWASH!
Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan set up the win for Team India as they scored big in the powerplay. Both India and New Zealand lost wickets in heaps but the former could manage a big total because of the opening partnership. The Kiwis could not stitch a partnership and that kept them from putting pressure on the Indian bowlers!
Martin Guptill was the lone fighter for them with a half-century, which was not supported by anybody. Guptill made full use of the leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal who was not finding the right lines to bowl but fell prey to the same bowler later on. Bhuvneshwar Kumar was also spot on with the new ball and then in the middle too but the pick of the bowlers is obviously Axar Patel!
Axar (3-0-9-3) picked two wickets in his first over and another one in his next. By then, the Kiwi batting had not much left in their tank to take the team towards the target that by then looked like the Everest. They will be glad that the left-arm spinner did not bowl his fourth over. Venkatesh Iyer too bowled for the first time in India colours and picked his maiden international wicket in the form of Adam Milne!
Harshal Patel too picked a couple of wickets but will be unhappy after conceding 26 runs in his 3 overs. All in all, the series victory would have brought back some smiles on the faces of Indians after their side's early exit from the recently-concluded T20 World Cup in the UAE.
Under Rahul Dravid and Rohit Sharma, their campaign for the T20 World Cup 2022 has begun well, but they have always done well in home conditions. So, nothing big!
17.2 Deepak Chahar to Lockie Ferguson, IT'S A STEEPLER! Chahar holds on to it this time. Shortish delivery from Chahar. Ferguson has a wild swing at it and gets the top edge that goes straight up. Chahar does well to hold on to it. And with that, India win the T20I series 3-0
Lockie Ferguson c & b Deepak Chahar 14 (8b) [0 x 4, 2 x 6]
17.1 Deepak Chahar to Trent Boult, slower delivery on a length angling in. Boult flicks it away off his pads to deep square leg
Those couple of sixes have taken the New Zealand total past 100 but still the target is way out of reach for the Kiwis!
17
overs
110/9score
W
6
0
6
1w
1
1
runs
Lockie Ferguson
14(7)
Trent Boult*
1(1)
Harshal Patel
2/26
16.6 Harshal Patel to Trent Boult, goes for the yorker but can't nail it. Boult blocks it down to mid-on for one
16.5 Harshal Patel to Lockie Ferguson, back of a good length angling into the batter. Pulls it away to deep square leg for one
16.5 Harshal Patel to Lockie Ferguson, gets his radar wrong. Harshal Patel is under pressure here. Goes down the leg-side with the length delivery
16.4 Harshal Patel to Lockie Ferguson, SIX! Another one goes out of the ground. Ferguson is enjoying his time out in the middle. Charges down the track and powers this length delivery from Harshal Patel over long-on
16.3 Harshal Patel to Lockie Ferguson, short of a length angling into the right-hander. Ferguson tries to swing it away over the on-side but makes no contact
Trent Boult, right-handed batter, walks out to bat!
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Eden Gardens, Kolkata
Lockie Ferguson
Harshal Patel
Video
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