That’s it from us in our coverage of the three-T20I series between India and New Zealand, with the Men in Blue emerging victors by a 3-0 scoreline as Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid begin their assignments as India T20I captain and head coach on a solid note.
Thanks for tuning in to our live coverage. Do return on Thursday morning for the first Test between the two sides at Kanpur. For now, this is Amit Banerjee signing off.
India skipper Rohit Sharma (159 runs, 53 average, 154.36 strike rate) is the Player of the Series!
Rohit: It’s important to start well whenever I bat. That’s always been my mindset. Once you see the pitch and assess the conditions, you know what you need to do as a batter. We wanted to get as many as we could in the powerplay and then carry on. There’s some room for improvement in the middle overs, but credit to the lower order for the way they finished off. (Positives) Harshal. It’s not easy when you bowl with the wet ball and try and execute your skills. Batting front, obviously KL. HIs form is very critical to the team. Axar, and then today Chahal, playing after a long time. Lot of positives. Good to see Venkatesh Iyer bowling those overs. Can be very useful for us going forward. Teams around the world bat pretty deep. It’s a big plus. Harshal opens the batting for Haryana and is a good batter. We saw what Deepak did in Sri Lanka. Yuzi Chahal was looking forward to batting as well (laughs), but didn’t get the chance.
Axar Patel is the Player of the Match for his figures of 3/9!
Axar: I used to bowl faster when geting hit for runs earlier, but these days focus on varying my pace. I also try and outthink the batters. Reading the batters and changing my pace is my approach. Was focusing on bowling the right areas as the wicket was offering a bit of help. This has been the best year for me with the Test debut and IPL comebacl. Confidence is also on a high after these performances. If you’re getting 27 wickets in one series, you start believing you can do anything. Also important to reflect on the processes that led to 27 wickets, and try and implement them in the next game.
Mitchell Santner, New Zealand captain: Tough one to predict about the dew. India also bowled very well at the top, especially Axar. Credit has to go to the way India played throughout the series. We were probably a little off. They’re always tough to beat at home. There were periods in every game when we were going well, and they always found a way to put pressure back on us. He’s obviously a great player for us, and with the schedule it’s understandable. Gives other guys an opportunity. You’re always looking ahead and trying out different guys. (Positives) The way Guptill batted at the top was great. Chappie getting to his fifty in the first game.
Rahul Dravid, India head coach: It was a really good series win. Everyone played really well. We’re also quite realistic, and we’ve got to keep our feet on the ground. Not easy for New Zealand to play a World Cup final, and then play three games in six days. We’ve got to learn some things and move on. It’s been really good to see some of the younger guys come through. We’ve given opportunities to some of the younger guys who haven’t got a lot of opportunities in the recent past. We need to keep building on those skills as we move forward. Great to see we have options, and we can mix and match. It’s a really long season, and a lot of matches being played. Nice to have different options and see different people step up.
Harshal Patel: (On success) It’s a pendulum and is going to swing the other way sometimes, so you’ve got to be ready. My skill sets won’t change overnight. I tried to do the same thing in the IPL and want to continue to do the same thing in international cricket. Execution is always a big part of the delivery. If you get it wrong, it can sail over the boundary even with tailenders. Sometimes your confidence is not upto the mark but you have to keep backing yourself. It’s a weapon I use very often and I bank on it.
Ishan Kishan: (On a boundary off Boult) He got me out in the World Cup, and I knew he’d try the same thing targeting my pads, so I was ready. (Keeping or opening) Whatever team asked me to do, I’ll do that. The coach and captain asked me to do the simple thing, what I did in the IPL and what gave me success. They asked me to go and watch the ball. Even if I got out, it was okay.
Venkatesh Iyer: I was picked for both batting and bowling, good to get a bowl finally. Everyone aspires to play for the country. If the team wins comprehensively, it’s a special feeling. I’ve always maintained as a professional cricketer, you’ve got to be flexible as to where you want to bat. That’s something I’ve worked on, adapting to situations.
Yuzvendra Chahal: I realised my ball is going far towards leg side. Then I decided to target the off stump. Ball was gripping a little. Specially I was working on my googlies and topspinner. It’s helping me to confuse the batsman, and I’m happy with that.
As clinical as it can get
This is the biggest win ever for Team India in the T20I against New Zealand – 73 runs. pic.twitter.com/cQRbT7fWTT— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) November 21, 2021
After 17.2 overs,New Zealand 111/10 ( Trent Boult 2 , )
OUT! INDIA WIN BY 73 RUNS AND SWEEP THE SERIES 3-0! Chahar grabs the final wicket, with Ferguson getting a thick top edge while looking for another big hit. Chahar, who had earlier dropped Guptill off his own bowling, makes no mistake this time. NZ 111 all out
Ferguson c and b Chahar 14(8)
After 17 overs,New Zealand 110/9 ( Lockie Ferguson 14 , Trent Boult 1)
Harshal grabs a second wicket as Sodhi this time hits the ball long enough for it to land in Suryakumar Yadav’s palms near long on, departing for 9. Ferguson then decides to have some fun with little to lose, smashing two sixes in three deliveries to guide the Black Caps past the 100-mark. 15 runs and a wicket from this over.