in short
Led by Shubman Gir’s century and Hardik Pandia’s all-around show, India scored her 168-run win against New Zealand in Ahmedabad on Wednesday. After scoring the fifth highest finish (234/4), he pooled New Zealand with 66 in 12.1 overs and was his third lowest in T20s.
Shubman Gill.
India decided early on he hit Ishan Kishan to lose before the leg was caught by a low delivery from Michael Bracewell. However, Gill confirmed there was a constant stream of runs on some raised borders, with the Indian opener slowing briefly in the middle overs, allowing his partners Rahul Tripathi, Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya was able to beat the New Zealand bowler, but picked up the pace again late in the innings. It took him just 19 pitches to go from 50 to 100, unleashing punch from the 16th against Ben Lister. Tougher treatment was then imposed in the innings by Blair Tickner and Rocky Ferguson, conceding 23 and 18 runs respectively, giving Lister two overs of 17 runs each.
Gill finished undefeated with his 63-ball 126, becoming the youngest Indian to score in all three formats for centuries.
Was he alone in this act?
Not at all. It started with a 50-run alliance with Rahul Tripathi for the second wicket, giving India a solid start despite the early loss of Kishan. Tripati started cautiously and in his first 10 balls he managed only nine runs, but beat Ferguson in the final over on a power play. Unlike Gill, Tripati resorted to a more unconventional shot, traveling around the crease and using the outside area of the back leg of the wicket to effect.
He dropped to his 22-ball 44 and pulled Mitchell Santner’s half-tracker straight into the fine-leg field.
However, even after being dismissed, Suryakumar Yadav kept India’s innings. In typical fashion, he moved quickly and played easily defensively. Much like Tripati, his dismissal was very disappointing, as after Bracewell mistimed a hack, he made an excellent one-handed dive down the middle to free the hitter.
Again New Zealand could not find a way back into competition. Hardik started off quickly, but soon he got to play his second fiddle for Gill. Nonetheless, he fell to 17-ball 30 in the final over from India’s innings after striking out four boundaries and six – en route to a 103-run alliance in the fourth wicket – they were just six. I managed ahead and got Darryl Mitchell. Is New Zealand catching up?
Not at all. Before they started, their challenge was in the bud, with Hardik and Ashdeep Singh each picking braces and only visitors with 2.4 overs and he struggled 9-4.
Some nice reflex catches from Suriyakumar’s slips helped India, but New Zealand’s hitters’ weaknesses were mainly the ball in motion. Bracewell was also quickly relegated to Umran Malik’s pace and was at the top of the stumps, with New Zealand facing a difficult task. Santner and Mitchell were less threatening, though he briefly revitalized the innings with a 32-run streak. Shivam Mavi got in on the action, sacking Santner and Ish Sodhi in quick succession to cut it down to 7-53.
Hardik returned for a second ban and scalped the wickets of Ferguson and Tickner to end New Zealand’s innings.
Brief Scores: India 234/4 in 20 overs (Shubman Gill 126*, Rahul Tripathi 44; Daryl Mitchell 1-6) beat New Zealand 66 in 12.1 overs (Daryl Mitchell 35; Hardik Pandya 4-16, Umran Malik 2-9) by 168 runs