Even before the first ball was bowled by New Zealand bowlers here at the Ferozeshah Kotla ground on Wednesday, it was pretty clear that the ball will remain wet throughout the game.
Visiting skipper Kane Williamson was considering himself to be the lucky one to have won such an important toss where India have been asked to bowl second in intense dew. But then, the Indians had other ideas as Rohit Sharma and local boy Shikhar Dhawan blasted away anything and everything that came their way right from the word go.
Knowing well that India have never beaten New Zealand in a T20I till date, the two combined well to register a record 158-run partnership to neutralise Kiwis’ toss advantage by posting a massive 202/3.
The chase was never going to be easy for the visitors and when both their openers – Martin Guptill (4) and Colin Munro (7) – were back in the pavilion with just 18 on the board, the writing was more or less on wall.
Williamson (28) and Tom Latham (39) did try to resist in between but the entire team could only score 149/8 at the end. More than the Indian bowlers, the credit should go to fielders who not only managed to grab three deep catches but also created a few run out chances despite the presence of heavy dew in the outfield.
New Zealand fell short by 53 runs to lose their first ever T20 game to India in six contests. It was a fitting farewell gift to veteran pacer Ashish Nehra on his home turf. He was given his full quota of four overs despite the fact that the wet ball was slipping out of the hands. As he came on to bowl the last six balls of the match, each and every cricket fan present inside the Kotla stadium lit their mobile torch in his honour.
A young fan also managed to sneak in to the field to touch his feet as if he was thanking him for all his services to the game. Yes, Nehra has retired after playing 17 Tests, 120 One-dayers and 27 T20 games for India for a combined tally of 235 international wickets.
New Zealand should blame themselves for sloppy fielding. They not only dropped both Sharma and Dhawan early on but kept repeating their poor fielding throughout.
Dhawan was put down by Santner in the second over while Sharma got a life in the seventh over. The two batsmen capitalised on the chances given to them and shared the highest partnership for any wicket by India in T20Is.
Both Sharma and Dhawan got out for 80 each on a wicket that has historically been considered a paradise to the batsmen. Apart from the first over, which yielded just two runs, their spinners Michell Santner and Ish Sodhi were the only ones who were spared of Indians’ wrath.
It was not until leggie Sodhi gave New Zealand their first breakthrough in the form of Dhawan after the left-hander came down the track and edged the ball that was grabbed by wicket-keeper Tom Latham. This late fall prompted Virat Kohli to promote Hardik Pandya up in the order.
However, this experiment lasted only two ball as Pandya was undone for a naught, again caught by Latham behind the stumps. Kohli then took the onus on himself by smashing 26 off just 11 deliveries to help India get past 200.
His dispatched three sixes during his short but exciting knock on his home ground. Sharma’s dismissal, meanwhile, was nothing less than an on-field confusion. He was initially given not out but a review from Williamson changed the decision and Rohit departed.
Did you know?
The 158-run opening partnership between Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma is India’s highest ever for any wicket, and third highest for the first wicket the worldover
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