India won by 73 runs
PLAYER OF THE MATCH : Axar Patel
Batter
Bowler
Hard to believe that almost the same time last week New Zealand were playing in a World Cup final. And we've had a whole series squeezed in already. We've learnt things from it, as we always tend to say when we want to find greater meaning in something that might not necessarily have it. We've learnt India are tough to beat at home (who would've thought?). But importantly we've learnt new things about new players, and about those who've been around as well. Neither team full strength, both experimenting, and both undoubtedly a little jaded. So that's all from us here. The first Test begins in four days. Goodbye!
Rohit takes the trophy, carries forward the tradition of handing it over to the newcomers as they pose for the cameras. Harshal Patel and Venkatesh Iyer right in the centre of the frame, Rohit goes off to the side. So that's the series done.
Rohit, Player of the Series: It's important to start well. That's always been my mindset. Once you've seen the pitch you know what you've got to do. It was nicely coming onto the bat with the dew coming early. We had something planned as a batting group. Wouldn't say it worked out well. Room for improvement in the middle order. The batting front - KL missed out today but his form is critical. Middle order didn't get much opportunity except today. The spinners did the job for us in the entire series. The way Ashwin bowled, Axar. And how Chahal came back. Good to see Venkatesh Iyer bowling those overs with the skills he has. Important for us going forward. I would prefer that going forward .. teams around the world bat deep till No.8, No.9. Harshal, when he plays for Haryana, he opens the batting for them. And then Deepak, we've seen what he did in SL. Chahal was looking forward to bat as well. I've grown up playing on a concrete pitch back in the day. Once I started opening a lot of things changed. Won't say it (playing the pull) comes naturally. I've practised a lot playing those shots. Some days it comes off very well but I've got out also playing that shot. That's why I say when you've got a certain strength, you've got to back it.
Axar, Player of the Match: Earlier when I got hit, I used to bowl quicker and quicker. Now I try to vary my pace. I try to stay a step ahead of the batter about what he's trying to do. There was help in this wicket. Ball was stopping. So I just tried hitting good areas because the wicket had some help. Want to take this confidence forward. Obviously if you take 27 wickets in a series, you feel like you can do anything (Tests against Eng).
Santner: Tough one to predict what the dew is going to be like. They bowled very well at the top, especially Axar. Credit to India for the way they played throughout the series. We were probably off. Came up against a very good Indian side. There were periods in every game. Pressure Rahul and Rohit put on us was tough to come back from. He's obviously a great player for us (Kane). With the schedule being quite tight, it gives other guys an opportunity. With the WC being in 11 months time you always look ahead. The way Guptill batted at the top, different guys chipping in at different times (positives). Challenging as a spinner with dew around. Second game was very wet. The way Ashwin and Axar adapted..
Biggest defeat for NZ in T20Is (by runs)
103 vs Pak Christchurch 2010
78 vs SA Auckland 2017
76 vs Eng Napier 2019
73 vs Ind Kolkata 2021 *
Most whitewashes in a series of 3+ matches (T20I)
6 India
6 Pakistan
5 Afghanistan
4 England
3 South Africa
India whitewashing an opponent in a T20I series (3+ matches)
3-0 vs Aus 2016 (A)
3-0 vs SL 2017 (H)
3-0 vs WI 2018 (H)
3-0 vs WI 2019 (A)
5-0 vs NZ 2020 (A)
3-0 vs NZ 2021 (H)
- This is India's eight consecutive win in a bilateral T20I against NZ.
Dravid (2/2): With some of our players coming back in, it will definitely make the side stronger. But it's really great to see that we have got options, we can mix and match, we can look at different players at different places. It's going to be a long season from hereon till the next WC. There's a lot of games to be played, so we have to do that with some of our players and be realistic with the amount of cricket they can play. It's nice to see people step-up and do well at this stage. We have got just three or four boys who are going onto the Test matches. We'll ask them to have an early night because in a couple of days, they'll have to start getting up at 7:30 in the morning for a 9:30 start. So hopefully we can get a good night's sleep. The other boys can probably have a late night and enjoy themselves.
Rahul Dravid (1/2): It was a really good series win. Everyone played really well right through the series. It feels good, nice to start well. We are also quite realistic. We have to keep our feet on the ground and be a bit realistic about this win. Not easy for NZ to play a World Cup final and then to turn up three days later to play three games in six days, was never going to be easy for them. Nice from our perspective but we have to learn from this series and move forward. It's a long journey ahead over the next 10 months and we'll have our share of ups and downs. It's been really good to see some of the young guys come through. We have given opportunity to some of the boys who haven't played a lot of cricket over the last few months. We have seen some of the skills available to us and we have to keep building on those skills as we go forward.
Harshal Patel: It seems so (easy). But I know it is a pendulum and it is going to turn the other way some time. You have to be ready for all of that and be switched on. My skill set is not going to change overnight, I have had success by doing the things I do well. I tried to do the same in the IPL and executed well and got the results. Execution is a big part of the delivery, if you get it wrong more often than not it is going to sail over the rope. Sometimes your confidence is not up to the mark but you have to keep backing yourself. It (slower ball) is a weapon that I use often and one that I bank on.
Ishan Kishan: Boult got me out in the World Cup, so I was ready for that ball on the pads and I hit it away. I'll do whatever (keeping/ fielding) the team asks me to do. The coach and our captain asked me to keep things simple. They asked me to play my shots, and it was fine even if I got out in the process.
Venkatesh Iyer: That's what I am in the team for - batting and bowling. It was good to get a bowl finally. Everyone aspires to play for the country. If the team wins and that too comprehensively, it's a special feeling. I hope that this continues for a prolonged period of time. I have always maintained that as a professional cricketer, you got to be really flexible as to where you want to bat. There might be occasions where even though you are going to play in the middle-order, you might get to bat within the powerplay. That's something I have really worked on - adapting to whatever situation I am going to play. I am going to look to better that.
Yuzvendra Chahal: I realized my mistake after two overs. It was drifting down the leg-side initially, but I got the line right when the ball started to grip, so I bowled the fourth stump line outside off. I was working on my googlies (in the last 6 months). It has helped me to confuse the batters, so I'm pretty happy with that.
22:31 Local Time, 17:01 GMT, 22:31 IST: A 3-0 sweep for India to kick things off under new leadership in T20Is. Had a few nervous moments in that first game, which shouldn't have gone so deep, but barring that it's been mostly plain sailing. Today was the most comprehensive performance and they'll take some delight in the fact that it came batting first, wanting to test themselves after winning the toss. Rohit fired again at the top, with India's approach in the powerplay being one of the takeaways of this series. The other takeaway has been their spinners. Ashwin has been the highlight as far as that's concerned. But in his absence today Axar Patel grabbed the spotlight. Three wickets in 10 balls, and that was almost the game given the lack of New Zealand's batting depth. Guptill looked dangerous enroute his fifty, but once Chahal got the better of him in the 11th over, the contest was over. Stay tuned. We'll have player interviews followed by the presentations
Chahar to Ferguson, out Caught&Bowled!! Big smile on Dravid's face. Job done. Short of length, sliced up in the air as Ferguson goes cross-batted. Not too different from earlier in the innings when Chahar found himself running back under a skier. Outcome completely different though. Takes it nicely. Ferguson c and b Chahar 14(8) [6s-2]
Chahar to Ferguson, THATS OUT!! Caught&Bowled!!
Shubham: Even after giving 16 runs in his 2nd over, Chahal finishes with 1/26. That's very impressive !!
Chahar to Boult, 1 run, back of a length on leg, clipped to deep backward square
Deepak Chahar [2.0-0-25-0] is back into the attack