India squared off against New Zealand in the first T20I of the three-match series on January 27, Friday and it was the Men in Blue captain Hardik Pandya who called it right at the toss and elected to field first. Fans claimed that it was a wise decision considering the pitch often favours chasing and with depth in the line-up, the Pandya-led looked confident of chasing the target.
To add more, it was a decent powerplay for the Black Caps as they got off to a great start with the openers toying with the Indian pacers. In no time, at the end of 4 overs, the Kiwis were reeling at 37/0 and it was Washington Sundar who provided the breakthrough with his double-wicket over. For the unversed, Sundar got rid of Finn Allen for 35 and Mark Chapman for a duck.
However, the other opener Devon Conway kept rolling and reached the half-century landmark off just 31 balls, keeping New Zealand in the race to put on a huge total, although it looked unlikely at the rate Conway and Daryl Mitchell were batting. Much to the surprise of the Indian fans, Mitchell bounced back in the final over and helped the Kiwis put on 176 runs on the board at the end of the first innings.
New Zealand pull off thrilling win as India put on poor display
As far as India’s chase is concerned, the team got off to a poor start with the bat as they lost Ishan Kishan in the second over, with the southpaw perishing for just 4 runs. Rahul Tripathi, who came in at Number 3, joined hands with Gill with the hope to lift the team from the initial hiccup, in vain as both batters returned in quick succession leaving India reeling at 15/3. Skipper Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav joined hands and kept the scoreboard ticking, keeping the Indian team in the race putting on a 50-run partnership for the 4th wicket.
Much to the dolefulness of the fans, Ish Sodhi removed Suryakumar in the 12th over when the batter was 3 runs away from reaching the 50-run mark, with India crawling at 83/4. With Pandya following the right-handed batter in the very next over, the Men in Blue were left clueless and the match was in the hands of Washington Sundar and Deepak Hooda.
India required 67 runs off the last 5 overs and it remained to be seen if the team would clinch the win, given Hooda made his way back in the 16th over after gathering just 10 runs to his name. It was the Kiwis who won the game by 21 runs despite a fightback from Sundar and took an early lead in the series, giving a perfect reply to team India after losing the ODIs.
Here’s how fans have reacted to the thrilling contest between India and New Zealand at Ranchi:
Prithvi Shaw in place of ishan in next t20i🤞#INDVsNZT20
— Naman Thakur (@NaMAn01724075) January 27, 2023
World Class spell from Mitchell Santner.#INDvNZ #INDvsNZ #NZvIND #NZvsIND
— Sharon Solomon (@BSharan_6) January 27, 2023
Ishan kishan don’t know how to play swing and now don’t know how to play spin. Flat pitch batter #INDVsNZT20
— Ankur chaudhary (@ankurku72756584) January 27, 2023
SKY is truly exceptional. On a turning pitch ! Playing like Bradman #INDvNZ @cricketaakash will he become the greatest ever Indian Batter?
— Umair (@umair12103559) January 27, 2023
What the think tank is doing they don't know Indian conditions, they won the toss and don't even know what to do #INDvNZ
— Vikas Gupta (@mailvikasg27) January 27, 2023
Pandya – "I Have Learned A Lot From MS Dhoni"
Bhai Tu Pitch Read Karna Hi Seekh Le Bas .. Spin Friendly Pitch Pe 4 Pacers Ke Sath Aa Gaya Khelne 🙂#INDvNZ #HardikPandya #INDvsNZT20
— 𝙎𝘼𝙉𝙄𝙏𝙄𝙕𝙀𝙍 💛 (@Sanitizer09) January 27, 2023
Disappointing Batting Performance by #TeamIndia today.😑😬#INDvNZ
— Subodh Agarwal🏏 (@SubodhAgarwal1) January 27, 2023
Ye Match New Zealand Jeeta Nahi Hai Bharat Khud Hi Haar Gaya Hai #INDvNZ
— IAMDC (@IAMDC95) January 27, 2023
This loser Hardik Pandya have got the guts to give gyaan to SuryaKumar Yadav . #HardikPandya𓃵 #INDvNZ
— PKumar (@YesKumar202201) January 27, 2023
Indian team phir quality bowling ke samne hagte huye 😭 #INDvNZ
— Naseem Akram 🇮🇳 (@naseemakram100) January 27, 2023
