Team India extended their successful start to the new year by handing New Zealand a sound thrashing in the third and final T20I in Ahmedabad on Wednesday. The two teams went into the decider at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on equal footing, with the Indian team having pulled off a nervy six-wicket win in Lucknow after suffering a 21-run loss in Ranchi last week. Many had expected the final white-ball game of the Indian home season to be a closely-fought affair, given the fight, the Black Caps had exhibited in the last two games.
The Men in Blue, instead, would end up dishing out one of their most clinical displays ever, winning by a record 168 runs to win yet another limited-overs bilateral series at home, a thrashing that mirrored their annihilation of the Sri Lankans in the final one-dayer in Thiruvananthapuram.
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Powered by Shubman Gill’s maiden T20I century as well as vital contributions from Rahul Tripathi and skipper Hardik Pandya, Team India posted a humongous 234/4, making a terrific recovery after losing the wicket of Ishan Kishan with just seven runs on board.
As if their domination with the bat wasn’t enough, India would then strike with the ball in the very first over of the Kiwi chase and would soon have them on the mat by reducing them to 21/5. Daryl Mitchell and skipper Mitchell Santner tried adding some respectability to the New Zealand batting performance with a 32-run sixth-wicket stand, but it merely helped delay the inevitable as they would end up losing their last four wickets for just 13 runs, getting bundled out for a meagre 66.
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The victory, India’s largest in the shortest format and the second-biggest among ICC’s Full Members, would preserve Pandya’s unbeaten run as skipper, the all-rounder having earlier led the Men in Blue to victory in the tours of Ireland and New Zealand last year as well as in the T20I series against Sri Lanka at the start of 2023.
With New Zealand’s tour of India coming to an end, albeit on a disappointing note for the visitors, it’s time for us to look back at some of the key takeaways from the three T20Is:
Gill firmly establishes himself as an all-formats player
There is little doubt about the fact that Shubman Gill has been the single biggest talking point in New Zealand’s tour of India.
After bossing the one-dayers in which he joined the 200-club in Hyderabad and followed it up with another ton in Indore, Gill had hit a roadblock with low returns in the first two T20Is, leading to some questioning his credentials as a T20 batter. The Gujarat Titans opener would not only silence the naysayers, but would also jump right to the top of the series batting chart with a magnificent 126 not out, bringing up the three-figure mark in just 54 balls and surpassing Virat Kohli’s record for the highest T20I individual score by an Indian in the process.
Gill has given enough indication of the fact that he is in the form of his life at the moment. Add his recent exploits in the Test arena, especially his maiden century in Bangladesh, to the picture, and you would struggle to find a better all-formats batter in the Indian team at the moment.
Arshdeep is still a work in progress
Arshdeep Singh certainly has made the most of the opportunities handed to him since breaking into the Indian team on the back of an impressive run in last year’s IPL, becoming a regular member of the Indian team, especially in the shortest format of the game, given his left-arm angle that adds variety to the bowling unit.
India seamer Arshdeep Singh in action during the second T20I against New Zealand in Lucknow. Sportzpics
While Arshdeep finished the T20I series on a good note, his temperament and discipline remain an area he will have to put some work into. The Punjab Kings seamer was taken apart in the first T20I, where he ended up bowling a horror 27-run over that turned the tide in favour of the Black Caps. Though he managed to redeem himself in the next two games, another brain fade like this could cost Arshdeep a place in the team, especially once the likes of Jasprit Bumrah regains match fitness.
Sundar highlights finishing ability
India is teeming with all-rounders at the moment, both seam and spin-bowling ones, and the manner in which Washington Sundar performed in the T20I series against New Zealand has only served to make the job of the selectors tougher when it comes to picking teams for the big events down the road.
Sundar emerged as one of India’s biggest positives in the T20I series; not only did he bowl and pick wickets in the powerplay, but he also highlighted his ability as a finisher in the first T20I in Ranchi, where he lent some respectability to what was otherwise an underwhelming Indian batting performance with a 28-ball 50, helping narrow the margin of defeat down to 21 runs in the end.
Washington Sundar took two wickets and smashed a 28-ball 50 in the Ranchi T20I. Image: BCCI
Sundar’s fighting knock had an instant impact — he was sent out to bat ahead of Pandya in the 100-run chase in Lucknow, where he ended up getting involved in a tangle with vice-captain Suryakumar Yadav. From the long-term perspective, the Indian team management will start looking at him as one of the finishing options in the middle-order, alongside the Pandyas and the SKYs.
Seam department a worry for Kiwis
While the New Zealand attack performed admirably in the first two games of the series, hardly letting the Indian batters settle in their victory in Ranchi and taking the game to the very last over despite defending just 100 in Lucknow, it was mainly the spinners that were keeping the Black Caps in the contest in this series.
Among New Zealand’s key lessons from this series is the fact that their seam department looks severely undercooked in the absence of seniors Tim Southee and Trent Boult, both of whom played key roles in the team’s victories in the recent T20 World Cup.
Ferguson was designated the leader of the attack in their absence, and while he did bowl with venom in patches, the express pacer looked overburdened for the most part and went wicketless for 54 runs in the decider in Ahmedabad, a venue where the Indian pacers thrived.
The series was also a good opportunity for the likes of Jacob Duffy, Blair Tickner and Benjamin Lister to try and stake claim to a spot in the Kiwi pace department, but they still have some distance to cover.
Mitchell a vital cog in the Black Caps’ middle-order
A major positive for the Black Caps, however, was the manner in which middle-order batter Daryl Mitchell performed in this series. Mitchell played a crucial role in tilting the balance of the game in favour of the Black Caps in Ranchi by fully capitalising on Arshdeep’s mistakes in the final over of the New Zealand innings, helping his side get within touching distance of the 180-mark at a time when the Indians would’ve had their tails up and eyed restricting them to less than 160.
New Zealand’s Daryl Mitchell plays a shot during his unbeaten knock of 59 off 30 deliveries in Ranchi. AP
Mitchell put up a similar fighting effort in Ahmedabad on Wednesday, where he ended up accounting for more than half of New Zealand’s runs with a 25-ball 35 that contained a four and three maximums against the run-of-play, being the lone bright spot in what was an extremely forgettable day in the office for Santner and Co.
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