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India vs New Zealand, 3rd T20I - As it happened...
Indian bowlers defended 67 runs to win their first ever T201 series against the Kiwis.
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Brief scores:
India 67/5 in 8 overs (Pandey 17, Pandya 14 not out; Southee 2/23, Sodhi 2/23, Boult 1/13).
New Zealand 61/6 in 8 overs (Grandhomme 17; Bumrah 2/9).
Jasprit Bumrah wins both the Man of the Match and the Man of the Series awards.
"The slower ball was gripping, after the first innings, Bhuvi and I had a chat about what will work. We saw they were gripping the ball, but our slower balls were not gripping. If you think about pressure, you won't be able to deliver," he said after the match.
Jasprit Bumrah, who produced bowling figures of 2-0-9-2 was brilliant and once again proved his worth, even as Yuzvendra Chahal toyed with the Kiwis.
For the Kiwis, Colin de Grandhomme top scored with 17 off 10 balls.
In a rain-shortened, but thrilling 8-over shootout, India defended 67 runs successfully to beat the Kiwis by 6 runs. India, thanks to the win, take the three-match series 2-1, and complete limited-overs double over the visitors. For India, pacers Bhuvi and Jasprit provided a dream start, getting wickets in their respective first overs, then the spinners took over. Hardik Pandya bowled the last over to restrict the Kiwis to a 61/6 in Thiruvananthapuram.
Over 8 | Score 61/6 (Colin de Grandhomme 17; Mitchell Santner 3)
19 needed off the last over. Hardik Pandya on with his first over of the day.
1st ball: 1 bye as Mitchell Santner fails to read the slower delivery
2nd ball: Colin de Grandhomme hits a rocket, lofted straight drive and Pandya sticks his left hand out. He's in pain. No run.
3rd ball: 18 needed off 4 balls, and de Grandhomme hits the next ball for a six, over deep mid-wicket
4th ball: A wide
4th ball: Reload results in a single
5th ball: Santner lofts high, but Kohli fields at long on to stop it tow a double.
6th ball: A single as India win the series.Ball by ball: 1B 0 6 Wd 1 2 1
Over 7 | Score 49/6 (Colin de Grandhomme 10; Mitchell Santner 0)
Jasprit Bumrah starts the penultimate over with a wicket, that of Henry Nicholls, caught at third man bu Shreyas Iyer.
Wicket: Henry Nicholls c Shreyas Iyer b Jasprit Bumrah 2(4)
Tom Bruce in the man for the Kiwis, and he dispatches the first ball — a slower full toss, for a four. Flicked. Then a wide. Good stop from Dhoni, diving to his left.
A bye for the Kiwis with a mix-up in the centre, then run out, with Dhoni completing the task.
Wicket: Tom Bruce run out 4 (Manish Pandey/MS Dhoni)
Good throw from Manish Pandey considering the tension in the middle. Moments ago Bumrah missed a direct hit from a Dhoni relay throw.
10 runs from the over. Kiwis need 19 runs from the last over.
Ball by ball: W 1 4 2Wd 1B 1B1,W 1B
Over 6 | Score 39/4 (Colin de Grandhomme 9; Henry Nicholls 2)
Yuzvendra Chahal completes his spell for 2-0-8-0. Brilliant spell, with only three runs coming from the last one.
New Zealand need another 29 runs from 12 balls, and India are back in the match.
Ball by ball: 1 0 0 1 0 1
Over 5 | Score 36/4 (Colin de Grandhomme 8; Henry Nicholls 0)
What an over from Kuldeep Yadav. Singles off the first two balls, then a lazy Kane Williamson gets beaten by a direct hit at the non-striker's end by dead-eye Hardik Pandya.
Then, Kuldeep gets Phillips caught at deep by Shikhar Dhawan.
Wicket: Williamson run out (Hardik Pandya) 8(10)
Wicket: Glenn Phillips c Shikhar Dhawan b Kuldeep Yadav 11(9)But the over ends with a massive six from the blade of Colin de Grandhomme.
Ball by ball: 1 1 W W 2 6
Over 4 | Score 26/2 (Kane Williamson 7; Glenn Phillips 10)
Bhuvneshwar Kumar on with his second over. Two singles off the first two balls, followed by a dot ball. He gambles with a seam up delivery and pays the price.
Glenn Phillips hits the fourth ball for a four by lifting over mid-wicket, and it beats two Indian fielders. The Kiwi batsman gets lucky to find a thick edge which beats the short third man for second successive four.
10 runs from the over. Bhuvi's figures: 2-0-18-1
New Zealand need another 42 runs from 24 balls.
Ball by ball: 1 1 0 4 4 0
Over 3 | Score 16/2 (Kane Williamson 5; Glenn Phillips 2)
Yuzvendra Chahal on with his teasing legbreaks. The 27-year-old, baked by fielders, produces a brilliant over leaking just five runs.
Kiwis need another 52 runs from 30 balls.
Ball by ball: 0 2 0 1 0 2
Over 2 | Score 11/2 (Kane Williamson 2; Glenn Phillips 0)
Jasprit Bumrah shares the new ball with Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and he removes dangerous Colin Munro. The Kiwi opener tries for a high-risk pull shot, but fails to connect the ball properly. It results in a skier, and Rohit Sharma takes a stunning catch at mid-on.
Wicket: Colin Munro c Rohit Sharma b Japrit Bumrah 7(6)
Glenn Phillips is the new man for the Kiwis.
Bumrah welcomes Phillips with a yorker. Three runs and a wicket from the over.
Ball by ball: 1 6 0 1 0 W
Over 1 | Score 8/1 (Colin Munro 7)
What a start from Colin Munro. Martin Guptill takes a single off the first ball, then Munro launches the second ball over mid-wicket boundary for a huge six. He was unbeaten in Rajkot.
Bhuvneshwar, however, responds with a couple of brilliantly disguised knuckle balls. Then, cleans up Guptil with a slower delivery, off the last ball. Off stump castled as Guptill played a wild swing.
Wicket: Martin Guptill b Bhuvneshwar Kumar 1(3)
Ball by ball: 1 6 0 1 0 W
Here's what happened in that 8-over innings. Put into bat first, India lost the plot on a wet top. Credit to the Kiwi bowlers. Bowling at variable paces, the visitors dominates the Indians. Bowlers were backed by brilliant fielding. Mitchell Santner was brilliant, involved in as many as three catches.
For India, skipper Virat Kohli was at his best in six ball stay, hitting a four and six. manish Pandey scored crucial 17 runs from 11 balls, and MS Dhoni didn't get to face a single ball.
Over 8 | Score 67/5 (Hardik Pandya 14; MS Dhoni 0)
Trent Boult on with the last over of the innings. A single to start as Hardik Pandya give strike to Manish Pandey. Then, wicket. A brilliant team work between de Grandhomme and Mitchell Santner. Caught at deep midwicket.
Wicket: Manish Pandey c de Grandhomme b Trent Boult 17(11)
MS Dhoni is the new man, and four balls remaining. Six runs from the last over as Boult dominates Indian batsmen. And Dhoni doesn't get a ball to play.
Ball by ball: 1 W 2 2 0 1
Over 7 | Score 61/4 (Manish Pandey 17; Hardik Pandya 8)
Good over for India with Manish Pandey and Hardik Pandya taking on the Kiwis. Pandya hits the fifth ball of the penultimate over for a huge six. 11 runs from the over. Mitchell Santner's figures read 2-0-16-0. Brilliant from the spinner.
Ball by ball: 0 1 2 1 6 1L
Over 6 | Score 50/4 (Manish Pandey 14; Hardik Pandya 1)
India lose another wicket, in the form of Shreyas Iyer. The right-handed batsman goes for a big shot, but ends up offering a catch to Martin Guptill at long-off.
Wicket: Shreyas Iyer c Martin Guptill b Ish Sodhi 6(6)
Hardik Pandya is the new man for India. 10 runs and a wicket from the over.
Ball by ball: Wd 6 0 1 W 1 1
Over 5 | Score 40/3 (Shreyas Iyer 6; Manish Pandey 6)
Nine runs from Tim Southee's second over. Manish Pandey starts with a four, brilliant cover drive. But the Kiwi seamers does well to restrict the Indian batsmen.
Ball by ball: 4 0 1 0 2 2
Over 4 | Score 31/3 (Shreyas Iyer 2; Manish Pandey 1)
Virat Kohli is on a different zone. He starts with a four, pulls it to perfection. Then inning's first six, over long on. Two singles, then the big wicket.
Kohli caught at deep midwicket by Trent Boult.
Wicket: Virat Kohli c Trent Boult b Ish Sodhi 13(6)
13 runs from Sodhi, but most importantly a wicket, that of Kohli.
Ball by ball: 4 6 1 1 W 1
Over 3 | Score 18/2 (Virat Kohli 2; Shreyas Iyer 1)
A slower off-cutter from Tim Southee to Rohit Sharma. A single. Shikhar Dhawan comes out and launches a skier. Mitchell Santner completes the catch. Then, Rohit Sharma gets out playing a hook shot, caught by Santner again.
Southee on a hat-trick, but Virat Kohli does well to block the fourth ball for a single.
Wicket: Shikhar Dhawan c Mitchell Santner b Tim Southee 6 (6b)
Wicket: Rohit Sharma c Mitchell Santner b Tim Southee 8 (9b)
Shreyas Iyer joins skipper in the middle.
Ball by ball: 1 W W 1 1 1
Over 2 | Score 14/0 (Rohit Sharma 7; Shikhar Dhawan 6)
Ripper of a delivery from Mitchell Santner to start with. Just miss the bail on top of middle stump. Huge relief for Rohit Sharma. A double off the second ball, with Rohit playing through backward square leg. A dot ball, then a lofted straight drive for a four. The outfield is quick.
A single to end the over. Another brilliant over for the Kiwis. Seven runs.
Ball by ball: 0 2 0 4 0 1
Over 1 | Score 7/0 (Rohit Sharma 1, Shikhar Dhawan 6)
Trent Boult is licking his lips. A single to off the first delivery, played towards fine-leg for a quick single. Boult than puts Shikhar Dhawan to the task, testing the left-handed opener with moving deliveries.
Dhawan, not to be intimidated, goes for wild swings. And he finds the boundary in his second attempt, off the fifth ball. Seven runs from the first over.
Ball by ball: 1 0 0 2 4 0
An ideal first innings total in such a 'small' will be anything near hundred. BTW, a bowler can bowl a maximum of two overs.
One change for the Kiwis. One change, Tim Southee comes in for Adam Milne.
Here's New Zealand XI: Martin Guptill, Colin Munro, Kane Williamson (c), Tom Bruce, Glenn Phillips (wk), Henry Nicholls, Colin de Grandhomme, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Trent Boult
A couple of changes for India. Axar Patel and Mohammed Siraj are out, for Manish Pandey and Kuldeep Yadav.
Here's India's XI: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Manish Pandey, Shreyas Iyer, Virat Kohli (c), Hardik Pandya, MS Dhoni (wk), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal
Virat Kohli spins the coin. Tail is the call, and it's tail. Kiwis bowl first. Pitch is wet, even the coin gets stuck.
It's expected to be a high scoring match, with both the teams going with one spinner only. And the team winning the toss will most probably go for bowling first.
It will be an eight-overs shootout in Thiruvananthapuram.
Good news. Toss will be at 9.15 PM IST.
Pitch inspection will be at 9 PM IST. And a five-over shoot-out still possible.
Finally, some good news. Some covers are being taken off, even as umpires inspect the centre.
The cut-off time for a 5-over match is 10:15 pm IST. And we have this overwhelming feeling helplessness. But the fans are sitting tight.
No update as of now. But, after 8 pm IST, overs will keep losing. Meanwhile, here's the video of Indian team playing football.
Another talking point besides Dhoni's batting position ahead of the match is that of Mohammed Siraj. Will he get another chance? That's the question. For the record, the 23-year-old leaked 53 runs in his four overs spell for one wicket.
Virat Kohli and three other Indian players are keeping themselves busy with a football kick around.
Covers are still in place. Not a good sight, it's still drizzling. Meanwhile, there's something on Virat Kohli. Read it HERE.
More bad news. More covers are coming on.
Toss delayed due to rain
For the past two days the city has been experiencing rains. And at least two showers are expected today. But the ground has one of the best drainage facilities in India. It's claimed that, once the rain stops, the ground can be made match ready in 10 minutes.
By the way, here are the squads:
India: Virat Kohli (c), Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal, Shikhar Dhawan, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), Shreyas Iyer, Dinesh Karthik, Kuldeep Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Siraj, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, KL Rahul.
New Zealand: Kane Williamson (c), Trent Boult, Tom Bruce, Colin de Grandhomme, Martin Guptill, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, Henry Nicholls, Adam Milne, Colin Munro, Glenn Phillips (wk), Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor.
The big talking point, however, is MS Dhoni's batting position. He scored 49 off 37 balls in Rajkot, but fans and pundits are not happy with that effort.
HERE are some quick numbers ahead of the crunch match.
It's indeed cloudy
The Kiwis leveled the series 1-1 in style, defeating India by 40 runs in Rajkot with Colin Munro hitting a brilliant unbeaten hundred. India won the series opener in Delhi by 53 runs, but the manner in which the visitors have fought back in the three-match series is indeed brilliant.
But there's distinct possibility of both the teams sharing the honours with rain threat looming large in Thiruvananthapuram. It happened during the Australia too, with the series decider in Hyderabad called off due to rain.
New Delhi: In an 8-over shootout, Jasprit Bumrah took two wickets to help India defend a paltry target of 67 runs against the top-ranked side. After hours of delay due to rain, the match started at 9:30 PM IST, with Kiwi skipper Kane Williamson asking India to bat first on an evidently damped top. The toss coin stuck on the surface. India lost their top-three batsmen inside the fourth over, but Manish Pandey and Hardik Pandya hit some lusty boundaries towards the end to give India a fighting chance. (SCORECARD | MATCH REPORT)
New Zealand won the toss and elected to field. India won the match by 6 runs.