Kolkata: India clinched the perfect clean sweep over New Zealand in the T20I series beating the visitors by runs in Kolkata on Sunday.The hosts post a solid 184/7 in their 20 overs thanks to Rohit Sharma(56) and Ishan Kishan’s(29) start followed by cameos by Harshal Patel(18) and Deepak Chahar(18) at the death. In reply, Axar Patel’s(3/9) prowess with the ball meant New Zealand were bundled out for mere 117 in 17.2 over despite a valiant 51 from Martin Guptill.
The iconic venue was in full mood at the start with BCCI president and the city’s very own iconic personality Sourav Ganguly ringing the bell before the start of the play amidst the presence of state fire services minister Sujit Bose and the mayor of Kolkata, Firhad Hakim.
Meanwhile, Skipper Rohit Sharma(56), the top scorer of the day, lead the charge for his side’s batting and added a blistering 69 run opening stand alongside youngster Ishan Kishan(29) who fell just the next over of the powerplay.
However, the pace dropped significantly with Kiwi bowles picking up wickets in a bunch during the middle phase. Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav and Rishabh Pant all got dismissed in a span of around five overs thanks to some tight bowling by Kiwi spin duo of Mitchell Santner(3/9) and Ish Sodhi(1/31).
Although Venkatesh Iyer and Shreyas Iyer added few runs in that phase, the innings needed a boost at the death which was provided by the two tailenders Harshal Patel(18) and Deepak Chahar(18*) who clobbered firery cameos to post a formidable total.
The Kiwi line up in reply, collapsed horribly with only Martin Guptill(51) holding the anchor for much part of the innings. Apart from him only Tim Sheifert(17) and Lockie Ferguson(14) went to double digits.
Axar Patel(3/9) continued his great form on his return to the squad and bowled a stunning spell while last match star Harshal Patel(2/26) also added valuable contributions.
A noteworthy thing is as per sources, head coach Rahul Dravid is looking the build the core group of a newly look squad comprising 25 players and rotating those players up and till the T20 World Cup next year bringing a mix of experience and youth. The possible returns of Virat Kohli, Mohammad Shami, Ravindra Jadeja and Jasprit Bumrah will be the senior members alongside the few that have played in this series.
Brief Scores: India 184/7 in 20 overs (Rohit Sharma 56, Ishan Kishan 29; Mitchell Santner 3/27) beat New Zealand 117 all-out in 17.2 overs(Martin Guptill 51, Tim Sheifert 17; Axar Patel 3/9) by 73 runs.
