166/5 (19.4)
CRR : 8.44
164/6 (20.0)
CRR : 8.20
India won by 5 wickets
Player of the Match
Player
62(40)
With that boundary, we have come to end of this thrilling encounter between two champion sides. What a game of cricket we have witnessed here. At one stage, it looked like India will stroll past the NZ target, but as they say, cricket is a game of great uncertainty and anything can happen on the field. New Zealand took India to the wire and the home side barely managed to sneak past the victory line, with two balls to spare. With that victory, India have taken a 1-0 lead in the 3-match T20I series.
Chasing 165 to win, this new Team India were off to a flying start, thanks to the deadly opening duo of KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma. Everything went according to the plan and the target looked like a cakewalk for this Indian side. Rohit Sharma misses his half-century by 2 runs, but his Mumbai Indians team mate, Suryakumar Yadav made up for it and reached his half-century that would have given him loads of confidence.
But once SKY went back to the pavilion and was dismissed by Boult, India's panic button was on and they struggled to time the ball properly. The game was hanging in the balance at the start of the final over and NZ felt they have a chance to upset the home side. But Rishabh Pant had some other plans as he kept a cool head and finished off the game with a boundary over mid off.
But credit to this New Zealand side, they showed us once again why they are one of the best white-ball sides in the world. The pace trio of Boult, Ferguson and Southee almost pulled off a win for their side, but perhaps the decision to give Daryl Mitchell the last over back-fired on them.
Chasing 165 to win, this new Team India were off to a flying start, thanks to the deadly opening duo of KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma. Everything went according to the plan and the target looked like a cakewalk for this Indian side. Rohit Sharma misses his half-century by 2 runs, but his Mumbai Indians team mate, Suryakumar Yadav made up for it and reached his half-century that would have given him loads of confidence.
But once SKY went back to the pavilion and was dismissed by Boult, India's panic button was on and they struggled to time the ball properly. The game was hanging in the balance at the start of the final over and NZ felt they have a chance to upset the home side. But Rishabh Pant had some other plans as he kept a cool head and finished off the game with a boundary over mid off.
But credit to this New Zealand side, they showed us once again why they are one of the best white-ball sides in the world. The pace trio of Boult, Ferguson and Southee almost pulled off a win for their side, but perhaps the decision to give Daryl Mitchell the last over back-fired on them.
Ashwin: " I think the slower you bowled, it was getting good. It is a bit tricky, how much you toss it up and how much you don't. The slower you bowled, the better you purchase up. I think 170-175 was a par score. Identifying the change of pace is really crucial. I bowled the first over in the powerplay. Later on, I realised that change of pace is the key in this surface. You have to understand that the batsman is going to play catchups with you. We need to understand that and bowl accordingly the best ball. I think its too early to speak about Rahul bhai. He has earned a hard yards with the U-19 guys and here he is for some with us."
Time for the presentation ceremony
Tim Southee: "You as a team always want to be on the winning side. It was a good total. Mark Chapman in his outing was impressive with the bat. We tried hard as a unit but failed to defend it. Mitchell Santner was good with the ball. It is always tough for a bowler to bowl when you haven't bowled much in recent times. But we didn't leave him enough runs to defend in the last over."
AAC 'Kamaal ka moment' award goes to Deepak Chahar.
Dream XI Game Changer Award goes to R Ashwin
Hyundai Best Save of the Match Award goes to KL Rahul, who saved a boundary at deep point
Rohit Sharma: "It didn't came that easy, but it's a great learning for the guys. It is not only about power-hitting, but also about rotating the strike. Technically it was a good game for us. We were missing a few players, but it gave great opportunity to some of the guys to prove their worth.
It was a complete bowling performance for us. At one stage, it looked like they will cross over 180, but we did well to restrict them to under 170. Ash (Ashwin) has played a lot of white-ball cricket in past and he has shown his class here. Same with Akshar who has done well for us. Surya batted really well. He took his chances and we want someone to do that. Very important player for us in the middle overs.
(Laughing about his dismissal)- Trent knows my weakness and I know his. The fine leg was up, so I went for the pull shot, but it didn't come off. But nonetheless, a good win for us."
It was a complete bowling performance for us. At one stage, it looked like they will cross over 180, but we did well to restrict them to under 170. Ash (Ashwin) has played a lot of white-ball cricket in past and he has shown his class here. Same with Akshar who has done well for us. Surya batted really well. He took his chances and we want someone to do that. Very important player for us in the middle overs.
(Laughing about his dismissal)- Trent knows my weakness and I know his. The fine leg was up, so I went for the pull shot, but it didn't come off. But nonetheless, a good win for us."
Suryakumar Yadav (Man of the Match):"Firstly I've been not doing anything different. Ive been doing the same thing as I have been doing in the nets". Whenever I'm playing a shot in the nets and getting out, I try to assess what I did wrong. It was delightful to bat today. It's a very good pitch to bat on. And yes, about Trent, thank you Trent. Its my wife's birthday and that's an amazing gift(sighs)."
Okay then, that's all for the coverage of this game. Do join us on Friday for the second match of the series. Till the next time, it's a ta-ta and a goodnight from me, Anurag Dasgupta and my co-commentators, Akshay Bhide and Arijit Kundu.