Jasprit Bumrah struck along with Washington Sundar as New Zealand struggled in their run-chase of 164 against India at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui. (Photo Credit: Getty Images)
New Delhi:
India are taking on South Africa in New Zealand in the ongoing series. Confused? Accurately, it is confounding. How does one explain not one but two consecutive chokes? The exhibition by New Zealand in the ongoing series has officially made them the new South Africa when it comes to stumbling in the final overs. The key for India is probably this. Take New Zealand to the final over of the chase irrespective of the target. The chances are New Zealand will botch it up and we could have yet another Super Over. New Zealand could not score two out of three in Hamilton and they failed to score three out of four in Wellington.
Ish Sodhi launches two sixes off Thakur but the bowler holds his nerve and India have won the final game by seven runs to become the first nation to achieve a 5-0 whitewash in a T20I bilateral series. History at Bay Oval. What a performance!
Ish Sodhi survives a run-out as the throw at the non-striker's end misses. Bennett somehow manages to keep Bumrah out and New Zealand need 21 off the last over. Miracle. 20 runs needed for Super Over. Just saying.
WICKET! Third wicket for Bumrah and he cleans up Southee with a yorker. India one wicket away, New Zealand 23 runs away still.
Southee hits a four and a couple of Navdeep Saini to stay alive in the contest. New Zealand need 24 off 12 balls.
WICKET! That has sealed it. Wide and full ball outside off, Taylor chases after it and edges it to KL Rahul. New Zealand are 133/8 after 18.1 overs, need 31 off 17 balls.
WICKET! Thakur on a roll. Short ball and Scott Kuggleijn pulls it to long leg but Sundar takes the catch. New Zealand are 132/7, need 32 off 19 balls.
WICKET! Mitchell Santner falls to Shardul and New Zealand sink further. Santner mistimes the lofted shot to long on and Manish Pandey takes the catch. New Zealand are 131/6 in 16.3 overs, need 33 off 21 balls.
Taylor hits yet another fifty but New Zealand need 35 off 24 balls. India hold all the aces.
Brilliant from Jasprit Bumrah and he cleans up Daryl Mitchell with a pin-point yorker. New Zealand are 119/5 in 14 overs.
WICKET AND FIFTY! Seifert reaches his third fifty but yet again, he falls as he turns a slow and short ball from Navdeep Saini to short midwicket. After 12.4 overs, New Zealand are 116/4
Tim Seifert hits a boundary and nears his fifty while Taylor is giving him good support. New Zealand are 113/3 after 12 overs.
34 runs in the over
Absolute carnage in the over. Seifert blasts two sixes and then Dube bowls a no-ball. Taylor clubs him for two fours and two sixes as Dube concedes 34 runs in the over. New Zealand are 98/3 after 10 overs, needing 66 off 60 balls.
Brilliant effort from Samson but Seifert hits a crucial boundary off Chahal. After nine overs, New Zealand are 64/3, needing 100 more off 66 balls.
Brilliant fielding from Sanju Samson as he saves runs by saving a six. After eight overs, New Zealand are 55/3.
Chahal bowls brilliantly and he is getting some grip of this wicket. New Zealand are 44/3 after seven overs.
Taylor and Seifert hold the key now for New Zealand. Can they stitch am solid stand?
Taylor gets going with two boundaries as Saini strays in his line and length. After six over, India are 41/3
Seifert and Taylor get going with a boundary each off Shardul Thakur. New Zealand need some confidence as they reach 32/3 after five overs.
Seifert cracks Navdeep Saini for a boundary as the bowler errs slightly with a short and wide ball. New Zealand are 22/3 after four overs.
WICKET! Disaster for New Zealand. Bumrah bowls a length delivery and Seifert knocks it to cover. There is a total communication breakdown and Tom Bruce is stranded. KL Rahul whips the bails off brilliantly as New Zealand fall to 17/3 in the fourth over. Absolutely chaotic.
WICKET! Afetr getting hit for a six and a four, Washington Sundar gets the ultimate revenge as he darts a quick ball on leg stump, Munro makes room but the ball hits the thigh pad and deflects onto the stumps. New Zealand are 17/2 after 2.3 overs.
Replays in on that dismissal. Missing leg stump. In that case, why didn't Guptill review? The Kiwis just have no confidence at the moment when nothing is going their way. Wicket Maiden for Bumrah and New Zealand are 7/1 after two overs.
WICKET! Jasprit Bumrah traps Guptill in front with a good length ball that nips back in sharply. New Zealand are 7/1 after the second over.
KL Rahul is captaining the side now. Washington Sundar is opening the bowling and he ends the over poorly as Colin Munro slog sweeps him to deep midwicket for a boundary. After the first over, New Zealand are 7/0.
India end on 163/3
Manish Pandey's six and a four help India reach 163/3. Is the target enough? I guess the simple thing for India will be to get it to the last over and ensure New Zealand choke again. It can be done.
Brilliant over from Kuggleijn as Shivam Dube mistimes the lofted shot to be caught at deep midwicket. After 19 overs, India are 148/3. Can they reach 160?
Scott Kuggleijn drops Shreyas Iyer on his followthrough. New Zealand are bowling well in the last couple of overs. Can India reach 160? After 18.4 overs, India are 148/2.
Brilliant stuff from Hamish Bennett. Just three runs in the 18th over. Rohit going off has hurt India at the right time. India are 143/2 after 18 overs.
Rohit Retires Hurt
Uh oh! This is not good news. After hitting a six, Rohit Sharma is really feeling some discomfort and has retired hurt for 60. This could be a body blow for India. After 17 overs, India are 140/2.
21st fifty for Rohit Sharma as he thumps Tim Southee over long on for a boundary. He is a supreme run-making machine in the format. Iyer hits a flat six and it just evades Ish Sodhi at deep backward square leg. After 15.4 overs, India are 129/2
Tom Bruce drops a very difficult catch of Shreyas Iyer as he runs to his right at long off and tries to catch it with one hand but he drops it. Iyer ends Santner's over in style with a massive inside out six over deep extra cover. India are 117/2 after 15 overs.
Another good over by New Zealand. Shreyas Iyer is struggling to get going. India are 106/2 after 14 overs.
Much better over from Santner. Only three runs coming off the over. India are 104/2 after 13 overs.
Shreyas Iyer gets going with a four to fine leg as Hamish Bennett strays into the pads. India are 101/2 after 12 overs.
WICKET! Much-needed wicket for India. Bennett gets this delivery to straighten and it sticks on the pitch, Rahul is a bit too early on the flick shot and he gets a leading edge to short cover where Santner takes the catch. India are 96/2 after 11.3 overs.
Rohit blasts yet another six straight down the ground off Ish Sodhi. India are 94/1 after 11 overs and both players are eyeing a fifty
Rohit wallops a six over deep midwicket as Santner continues to be poor. Rahul ends the over in style as he deliberately steers a quicker ball to the boundary. After 10 overs, India are 84/1.
Santner concedes seven runs in his over but Rohit breaks the shackles by slamming a four off Ish Sodhi. One hand came off the bat handle as he looked to deposit the ball over Mount Maunganui. After nine overs, India are 69/1.
India have ended the powerplay on 53/1 after six overs. Ish Sodhi, who has been the most impressive bowler in the series, is into the attack and he begins brilliantly. After seven overs, India are 55/1.
Just to know - Ross Taylor is the third player after Rohit Sharma and Shoaib Malik to play 100 T20Is. Here is the link
Rohit just helps a short ball from Hamish Bennett to the fine leg fence for a boundary. After five overs, India are 44/1.
Kuggleijn spoils the over by bowling five wides as India make good progress. After four overs, India are 34/1.
Brilliant batting from KL Rahul. He lofts Southee over deep extra cover for a majestic six and then follows it up with two boundaries, one a pull shot to deep midwicket. India are 25/1 after three overs.
WICKET! Sanju Samson fails yet again. He drives a full ball from Scott Kuggleijn to extra cover but he finds the fielder. Mitchell Santner takes the catch. India are 8/1 after 1.3 overs.
KL Rahul blasts a short ball past backward point for a boundary. India have made a confident start, reaching 8/0 after the first over.
Tim Southee will open the bowling for New Zealand. KL Rahul and Sanju Samson are opening the batting. Rohit will bat at No.3
India opt to bat
Rohit Sharma has chosen to bat against New Zealand at the Bay Oval. Rohit is the only change in the side in place of Virat Kohli who has been rested. New Zealand are unchanged. Kane Williamson was still feeling some discomfort.
The wicket is hard and flat. The average score at this venue is 180. The ground dimensions slightly big. There is a strong wind blowing across the venue which could assist six-hitting towards the shorter end of the boundary.
If New Zealand lose the match at Bay Oval, they will suffer this horrible fate of being the first team to be whitewashed 5-0 in the Twenty20 International series. Remember, New Zealand have not won any match ever since their win at the same venue in the England Test.
Will India rest Jasprit Bumrah for this game? He has three ODIs and importantly two Tests to follow. But he has also come back from a lengthy injury lay-off and he might want more overs under his belt.
Will India make changes in the side? By the looks of it, India might rest Virat Kohli and bring back Rohit Sharma. Will Rishabh Pant and Kuldeep Yadav come back in the side? Lots of permutations and combinations today at the Bay Oval. The Blackcaps will see Kane Williamson return today.
New Zealand are the new South Africa as they choke at the final overs. Will they choke again?
New Zealand have a good record at the Bay Oval, winning four out of six encounters, with one match being abandoned and one loss to Pakistan. But, they had a great record at the Cake Tin and they lost. One hopes that we do not see yet another T21. We want a proper T20.
A warm welcome to the fifth and final T20I between New Zealand and India from the magnificent Bay Oval stadium at Mount Maunganui. Virat Kohli's side are eyeing a major slice of history as they aim to become the first nation to achieve a 5-0 whitewash in the history of T20Is.
