IND VS NZ - 2nd T20I, New Zealand tour of India, 2017

India vs New Zealand

New Zealand won by 40 runs

IND -156/7 (19.6)

NZ -196/2 (19.6)

PLAYER OF THE MATCH : Colin Munro

Batter

R
B
4s
6s
SR
2
3
0
0
66.67
1
2
0
0
50

Bowler

O
M
R
W
ECO
4
0
30
0
7.5

It's good that once again we will have the final match as a decider. Last time, New Zealand came close to upsetting the hosts but were denied by brilliant bowling from Bumrah. Today again they found the same man in their way of getting to 200 but thankfully the bowlers stood up on a pitch that was never meant for them. A win that affirms the belief that trusting your skills goes a long way in conditions that are against you. This is Abhishek Chaudhary signing off alongside Sagar Chawla, Vineet Anantharaman, Pradeep and Vinod. Good night!

***

Here's a stat wrap for the day, courtesy Deepu Narayanan:

* 100 and four-fer for a team in a T20I:
M van Vyk (114*) & D Wiese (5/23) v WI, Durban, 2015
Tamim (103*) & Shakib (4/15) v Oman, Dharamsala, 2016
C Munro (109*) & T Boult (4/34) v Ind, Rajkot, 2017 -- today

* Biggest losses for India in T20Is (by runs):
49 v Aus, Bridgetown, 2010
47 v NZ, Nagpur, 2016
40 v NZ, Rajkot, 2017 -- today
31 v Aus, SCG, 2012

* NZ in T20Is played in India:
Delhi: Played 2, Lost 2
Other venues: Played 6, Won 6

***

Harsha Bhogle: I still think 5 bowlers is the way to go. Some days you will seem a batsman short but like in Delhi, it wins you games

Munro: Few chances went my way, but that's T20 cricket, you need luck in your way. Felt good with the bat, but had been getting out at funny times. Love batting at the top of the order. The way I and Guptill batted today, it was great. The way I bat, it is the same every time: when I am chasing a target of 120 or above 200. Get out there, stay still and try and hit the ball for four or six or if it is not there, get off the strike. It came off today, play the ball on its merit and swing hard.

Colin Munro is the Man of the Match

Harsha Bhogle: It is three times now that Santner and Sodhi have been excellent against India. It is an issue to address.

Kane Williamson: I guess a contrasting performance from the last game. Certainly an improved performance. We need to play well to beat this side, and we were able to do so today. Absolutely, it was a great partnership. Fantastic hundred from him (Munro). When anyone bats like this, it goes a long way in getting a good total when you are batting first. Guptill at the top and then Tom Bruce coming in. It was a great pitch, fast outfield and the guys executed their plans well. Great performance from the bowlers on this wicket. Two spinners, they are pretty experienced in this format and they bowled well during tough phases of the game.

Harsha Bhogle: For India to win, they needed runs from both ends at a fast clip. They didn't get those.

Virat Kohli: I mean I thought New Zealand were pretty good with the bat. We did not take our chances. At one stage we were looking for 225-230 but credit to Bumrah and Bhuvi to have pulled things back. I think we were pretty happy with the way last 5 overs went. But eventually we were not good with bat. When you chasing 200, all the batsmen need to chip in or one guy needs to go over the strike rate of 200. Once you lose a couple of wickets, it becomes tough to pick up your areas. MS was very good in the end, but we left ourselves too much to get. That happens, you want to go for big shots. But you don't. It has happened with a lot of batsmen where you don't get to go on strike. But that's how the game goes. Hardik has done the job for us many times. We back them to do well. Not during the early half of the innings. Maybe after 13-14 overs it started gripping. No excuses, we were not good with the bat. We admit that. There was not any dew that we thought would settle in. We lost the toss, we did not get to choose what we would have done. We were just not good enough on the day.

Presentations in a while

Ish Sodhi: It was a flat wicket, the hundred by Colin Munro was special, he will remember it for the rest of his life. It started to spin in the second innings, the ball got scruffed up and started helping the bowlers. I have practiced the googly a lot in the nets, wanted it to bowl at the right time. I don't have a get out of jail delivery as much, but I want to add variety to my game. T20 is a great challenge, it's action packed and bowling well tonight was a great plus.

Did it change when India had a dull period around the 7th over when they could only score 10 runs in three overs? Or did it change when it became evident that Dhoni had left timing at the hotel. One can also say that the Indian bowlers did not bowl well. Maybe they got overawed by a shiny pitch and did not bowl according to their skills and were sucked into mediocrity. Flat darters skids on and went out of the park. On contrary, the New Zealand bowlers flighted and varied their lengths as well, keeping in check two of the clean strikers of the ball.

Openers went back early. Can happen in a chase like this. But after that they looked like deer in headlights. Iyer's occasional slaps worked for a while but he was overawed by the score on the board. Not everyone is Kohli. Pandya had another failure and then came Dhoni with a lot of reputation which seem to bog him down these days. Could not time at all and by the time it consumed Kohli, the match was sitting in the lap of the tourists.

22:25 Local Time, 16:55 GMT, 22:25 IST: In hindsight, criticism is slightly easier. But it's one of those days when India could not execute even a single plan. They wanted to field, they got to field. They thought dew would help later, it did not.

END OF OVER 20

8 Runs

IND: 156 - 7

6 0 W 0 1 1

Bhuvneshwar Kumar

2 (3)

Jasprit Bumrah

1 (2)

Boult

4-0-34-4

19.6

Boult to Bhuvneshwar, 1 run, full ball. Bhuvneshwar clips to mid-wicket. India lose by 40 runs

19.5

Boult to Bumrah, 1 run, slower ball that cuts in. Bumrah wants to push away, gets off the inside edge to short fine leg

19.4

Boult to Bumrah, no run, fuller ball. Bumrah jams to short third man

Jasprit Bumrah, right handed bat, comes to the crease

19.3

W

Boult to Dhoni, out Caught by Santner!! Bouncer. Dhoni pulls and like his most shots today, this too has no timing at all. Finds Santner at backward square leg who holds on this time. A lot of questions are already being printed and typed across the cricketing circles as he walks back. Dhoni c Santner b Boult 49(37) [4s-2 6s-3]

Boult to Dhoni, THATS OUT!! Caught!!

19.2

Boult to Dhoni, no run, drills down to long-off and stays on strike