Wellington: A below-par India slumped to their worst ever defeat in T20 Internationals as New Zealand outclassed the visitors in all departments to win the first match of the series by a comprehensive 80-run margin here Wednesday.
Batting first, unheralded keeper-batsman Tim Seifert took the Indian bowling apart blasting 84 off 43 balls as New Zealand posted a commanding 219 for six. With the crack opening pair of skipper Rohit Sharma (1) and Shikhar Dhawan (29) departing within the Powerplay overs, the chase became a difficult one and India were all out for 139 in 19.2 overs. Mahendra Singh Dhoni (39 off 31 balls) did play his part but it was always an impossible chase with wickets falling at regular intervals at the other end. India had never lost a T20 International by 50 or more runs prior to this match. India’s previous worst was a 49-run loss to Australia back in 2010.
India skipper Rohit Sharma Wednesday said that a line-up with eight specialist batsmen should have chased down the 220-run target set by New Zealand, however steep it might have looked for a T20 match. “It was a tough game. We were outplayed in all three departments. We didn’t start well and we knew that 200 wasn’t going to be an easy chase,” Rohit said after the match. “We have chased such (big) targets in the past and that is why we played with eight batsmen. But we didn’t have (even) small partnerships and that made it tougher. New Zealand though played well, they had partnerships. We need to go to Auckland, have a look at the conditions and take it from there,” he added. Outplayed 1-4 by India in the five-match ODI series, Black Caps skipper Kane Williamson was happy to finally see his team produce a “complete performance” in the first T20I.
Fielding restrictions in the first six Powerplay overs is challenging for any bowler but according to Krunal Pandya it was the middle overs that proved costly during India’s 80-run loss to New Zealand in the first T20 International.”In the Powerplay as well as in the middle overs also, we gave away plenty of runs,” Krunal said at the post-match media conference after India folded for 139 while chasing 220. He maintained that the target wasn’t easy to chase.
“Yes, obviously I guess, when you are chasing 218 (220), it’s not that easy. Initially, we gave away (too many) runs and kept on leaking runs in the middle overs as well. So no matter how the pitch was, the scoreboard pressure was obviously there,” the Baroda all-rounder said. Krunal felt that India’s defeat was “a combination of both poor bowling and some great batting by the Black Caps”. “They batted really well and we bowled a few loose deliveries as well. So it was a combination of both.” A couple of catches were dropped including one by wicketkeeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, when Man of the match Tim Seifert hadn’t scored much. (PTI)
