The third and final T20I between India and New Zealand is on. After winning the toss, the Black Caps elected to bat first. The decision looked good for the first half of the innings but was a disaster in the second. The team has scored 160 runs in the first 20 overs. India needs 161 runs to seal the series.
IND VS NZ 3rd T20I: 1ST INNINGS MATCH UPDATE
There are two halves of the Newzeland’s first innings. One where they were 143 for 3 and the other where they werw 149 for 9. When Conway and Phillips were working together, building a partnership, they were 130/2. But as soon as their alliance crumbled, they lost ground. The best batters for Kiwis were Conway (59) and Philips (54) who finished their fifties but couldn’t capitalize on the form. None of the batters after them could score even in double digits. There was a series of wickets. One of the disastrous choking scenes in recent times for the team.
In the bowling department, Siraj stole the show with his short balls. He ended up with 4 wickets by giving away just 17 runs in 4 overs. He was tremendously backed by Arshdeep Singh who also took 4 wickets. Though he was a lot expensive with an economy of 9.25. Only Harshal Patel was another bowler who took 1 wicket. Rest all bowlers were wicketless.
IND VS NZ 3rd T20I: BEST BOWLER SIRAJ
Post the innings Siraj talked about his bowling performance as he said. “I was a standby in the recent WC, I worked on my lengths, tried to hit the hard lengths. Went with the same idea, if they are to score off those, they need to be good shots. I don’t think 160 is a great total considering the short boundary, credit to our bowlers for a job well done.”
IND VS NZ 3rd T20I: 1st INNINGS UPDATE ANALYSES
Siraj was the best bowler, and Arshdeep worked admirably with him to take up 8 wickets between them. Conway and Phillips took their time but eventually rallied New Zealand with an 86-run stand after Allen and Chapman were sent back inside the powerplay. Both batters reached their respective fifties but were unable to bat out the game.
New Zealand lost 8 wickets for 30 runs and it sums up how badly they performed in those last few overs. There were only wickets falling down with no regards given to bowlers. As a result, the hosts had to pay. It seems they are up for a loss today.
