India
entered the ICC World T20 tournament as the number one ranked team in the world
and as clear favourites to win the title. However, they have started their
journey in this tournament not on a bed of roses but on a bed of thorns. India
was annihilated last night by the dark horses of the tournament-The New Zealand
side in their opening match at Nagpur, losing by 47 runs, making it five out of
five defeats to New Zealand in T20Is.
New
Zealand won the toss and elected to bat first against the home team. Though the
average score on this track was 150+, the home team did a commendable job in
the folding the New Zealand side for 126 runs in their 20 overs. Martin Guptill
(6) opened the Super-10 stage with a six, hitting Ashwin straight. But in the
same over, he walked towards the dugout, as the off spinner caught him plumb in
front. Nehra came in next and also bowled according to the plan and chipped in
another wicket. Dhoni then surprised everybody by bringing in Raina in the
seventh over but the off spinner did well and spun his magic. The wickets were
falling at regular intervals and New Zealand did try to accelerate the run rate
as well however, in that bargain they lost wickets. The hundred came as late as
17.2 overs, and it was only a cameo of 21* off 11 from Luke Ronchi that got the
Black Caps past 120 due to the efforts of Jasprit Bumrah, who excels at the
death, and came away with 1 for 15.
 | ||||
| New Zealand won the toss and elected to bat first |
After
the New Zealand innings ended all hopes rested on the tall batting order of
India. From cricket experts to commentators and from the fans to the media, all
knew that India would chase down a small target as this easily. However, that
was not the case. The Kiwis unleashed the spin trio of Nathan McCullum,
Mitchell Santner and Ish Sodhi on the Indian batsmen and then all fell like a
pack of cards in front of their home crowd for a meagre 79 all out. Opening their defence with Nathan McCullum,
the Kiwis struck gold right away, getting Shikhar Dhawan (1) LBW. Rohit Sharma
(5) became the first of Santner's four victims. The left-arm orthodox bowler brought double
delight for the Kiwis removing Suresh Raina (1) in the same over, a soft
dismissal that saw the left-hander giving an easy catch to short mid-wicket. Corey
Anderson was introduced, allowing Virat Kohli to break the shackles with two
boundaries. But Yuvraj, the new man, didn't last long. t 39 for 4, India had a match
on their hands. But the introduction of Sodhi got the Blacks Caps the biggest
wicket. Kohli, batting at 23 off 26 at that moment, tried to drive Sodhi, only
to find an edge settling into Luke Ronchi's gloves. Hardik Pandya went LBW to
Santner for 1, soon followed by Jadeja, who saw Sodhi taking a stunning return
catch to send him back for a duck.
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| New Zealand players celebrate as Shikhar Dhawan returns to the pavilion during the World T20 match in Nagpur on Tuesday. |
Skipper
MS Dhoni and Ravichandra Ashwin tried their bit with a 30-run partnership, but
it was all getting out of hands with the require rate soaring. Dhoni brought
the crowd back on its feet with a straight six off Sodhi, but the legspinner
dismissed Ashwin in the same over to bring the end nearer at 73 for 8. It ended
soon afterwards with Dhoni's (30 off 30) wicket making it the best day in the
T20I office for Santner with figures of 4 for 11. Sodhi was the second best
bowler with 3 for 18, followed by McCullum's 2 for 15. Adam Milne (1 for 8)
claimed the last man, Nehra. This was India's second lowest total in T20Is,
after the 74 they scored against Australia.
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| MS Dhone- The lone warrior |
New
Zealand did well to start the tournament with 2 points in their kitty and on
the other hand the Indian cricket team did get a wake-up call as well. Now all
eyes will be set on the all-important, India vs Pakistan clash this Saturday,
which is now become a must win-match for the Indian team.
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