Tim Seifert produced a terrific batting performance before Tim Southee shone with the ball as New Zealand thrashed India by 80 runs in the opening T20I of the three-match series at Westpac Stadium in Wellington on Wednesday.
After being asked to bat first, opener Tim Seifert struck a blistering knock of 84 runs from 43 balls while his opening partner Colin Munro and Kane Williamson also made significant contributions of 34 runs each as New Zealand post a huge score of 219 for six.
In reply, India's batting line-up failed to counter New Zealand's bowling attack and fell in quick successions to eventually bundle out for 139 runs.
For New Zealand, Southee finished with brilliant figures of three for 17 while Lockie Ferguson, Mitchell Santner and Isha Sodhi also bagged two wickets each.
Here are the highlights:
# New Zealand bowled out India for 139 runs in 19.2 overs to win first T20I by 80 runs. India 139 (19.2 overs)
New Zealand send India to their biggest T20I defeat!
The visitors are bowled out for 139 in Wellington after Tim Seifert's 84 helped set up a crushing 80 run win for the Blackcaps!#NZviND scorecard https://t.co/TTixTOEQaM pic.twitter.com/W8gh3ufYlg
— ICC (@ICC) February 6, 2019
# Bhuvneshwar Kumar comes to bat for India!
# Wicket! Southee delivers an excellent bouncer and Krunal goes for a pull but ends up giving a low sliding catch to Seifert. With this, Krunal's 52-run partnership with Dhoni for the seventh wicket comes to an end. India 129/7 (17 overs)
# 21 runs off the last two overs, including two boundaries and a six. Dhoni (18) and Krunal Pandya (19) are looking settled at the middle after India lost four wickets in quick successions. The Men in Blue require another 102 runs from just 24 balls, while New Zealand are looking to dismiss Dhoni to turn the game completely in their favour. India 118/6 (16 overs)
# Krunal Pandya is the new batsman in!
# Wicket! Sodhi strikes twice in his very first over of the match to dismiss Hardik Pandya and Dinesh Karthik for four and five runs, respectively. The New Zealand bowler first delivers length ball wide outside off and Karthik went for the slog sweep but ends up giving a simple catch to Southee at deep wicket. Pandy, meanwhile, was caught by Mitchell near the boundary line. India 77/6 (11 overs)
Sodhi on to bowl and he has a wicket with his second ball! Karthik caught by Southee at midwicket as India fall to 72/5 in the 11th over. LIVE scoring | https://t.co/Dbnn1dR7t6 #NZvIND = @PhotosportNZ pic.twitter.com/MvpkgdxGar
— BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) February 6, 2019
# Ish Sodhi comes into the attack for New Zealand!
# MS Dhoni comes to bat for India!
# Wicket! India in trouble as they lost Pant and Shankar in quick succession in their chase of 220 runs. Mitchell Santner first castles Pant for four runs before Shankar holes out the fifth delivery of the ninth over to Colin de Grandhomme, who comes in from long-off to take a neat catch. New Zealand 65/4 (9 overs)
Two in the over for Santner! First Pant and then Shankar. India 65/4 after 9 overs. LIVE scoring | https://t.co/Dbnn1dR7t6 #NZvIND = @PhotosportNZ pic.twitter.com/Vl2f6Kk4dP
— BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) February 6, 2019
# Rishabh Pant is the new batsman in !
# Wicket! Ferguson bowls a fiery yorker as Dhawan misses his flick and the ball went on to hit his pads before rattling the stumps behind. Meanwhile, Shankar made a positive start to his innings, scoring two boundaries and a six off Kuggeleijn's over. India 59/2 (6.2 overs)
Dhawan goes for 29 after looking ominous. Ferguson in the action again with a top yorker that hit Dhawan's pads and then the stumps. India 51/2 in the 6th. LIVE scoring | https://t.co/Dbnn1dR7t6 #NZvIND= @PhotosportNZ pic.twitter.com/9TDcGfmHDg
— BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) February 6, 2019
# Vijay Shankar is the new batsman in!
# Wicket! Southee gives an early breakthrough to the hosts by removing Sharma for one run. The New Zealander delivers a short ball on the body and the Indian opener went for the pull but it hits the top half of the bat and Ferguson takes a good running catch coming in from deep square leg. India 19/1 (3 overs)
Southee strikes early! Sharma doesn't time a hook and Ferguson takes a good running diving catch coming in from square leg. India 18/1 in the 3rd. LIVE scoring | https://t.co/Dbnn1dR7t6 #NZvIND = @PhotosportNZ pic.twitter.com/44yB9gJuAQ
— BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) February 6, 2019
# An expensive second over from Scott Kuggeleijn as he has conceded 17 runs. Dhawan first smashed the New Zealander with two back-to-back sixes to give India an early boost before he deflected the fifth delivery to the fine leg for a boundary.India 18/0 (2 overs)
# Tim Southee bowls a tight first over, conceding just a single run to Rohit Sharma, who flicked away the first delivery towards backward square leg. India 1/0 (1 over)
# Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan have walked down the crease to begin India's chase. Tim Southee to start New Zealand's proceedings.
# New Zealand 219/6 (20 overs)
Mitch Santner finishes the innings with a four! 20 overs complete and the team have set the highest total in a T20I at @WestpacStadium with 219/6. Seifert leading the way with 84. LIVE scoring | https://t.co/Dbnn1dR7t6 #NZvIND = @PhotosportNZ pic.twitter.com/L1Jy44Q0b1
— BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) February 6, 2019
# Wicket! Bhuvneshwar bowls a hard length delivery outside off and Taylor top-edges in the air to hand a catch to Khaleel at short fine leg. New Zealand 191/6 (18.1 overs)
A flurry of wickets for India. First Colin de Grandhomme and now Ross Taylor. 191/5 now in the 19th over. LIVE scoring | https://t.co/Dbnn1dR7t6 #NZvIND = @PhotosportNZ pic.twitter.com/3EBVhwuGtw
— BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) February 6, 2019
# Meanwhile, Hardik Pandya has conceded 51 in his four overs, which is his most expensive figures in the shortest format of the game.
# Wicket! Hardik Pandya bowls a full toss and de Grandhomme (three) swings it in the air to hand an outstanding catch to the sub fielder Mohammed Siraj. Despite being five wickets down, the hosts are looking all set to cross the 200-run mark. New Zealand 190/5 (18 overs)
# Colin de Grandhomme and Ross Taylor are now batting at the crease for New Zealand.
# Wicket! Back-to-back wickets for India. Hardik Pandya claimed his first wicket of the match in the last ball of the 15th over. The Indian bowler sent Mitchell back to the pavilion for just eight runs on his debut after Dinesh Karthik grabs a superb catch. Subsequently, Chahal too clinched his first wicket after Williamson picks a googly and flicks it straight to Hardik Pandya at deep midwicket. New Zealand 169/4 (16 overs)
India have two in two balls from separate overs. Williamson caught off Chahal and goes for 34. Taylor and De Grandhomme now together in the middle. 164-4 in the 16th. LIVE scoring | https://t.co/Dbnn1dR7t6 #NZvIND
— BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) February 6, 2019
# Debutant Daryl Mitchell is the new batsman in!
# Wicket! India have bagged a big wicket in the form of Seifert. Khaleel Ahmed rattles the New Zealander's woodwork with a perfect yorker in the fourth delivery of the 13th over. With this, Seifert's blistering knock of 84 runs from just 43 balls comes to an end. New Zealand 138/2 (13 overs)
Seifert has to go for 84 from just 43 balls. India strike in the 13th over. Daryl Mitchell on debut joins Williamson 14*. 134/2 LIVE scoring | https://t.co/Dbnn1dR7t6 #NZvIND pic.twitter.com/f6pMcpINsH
— BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) February 6, 2019
# Seifert continues to remain strong at the crease despite Munro's dismissal. He is getting good support from Williamson as the duo has notched up 39 runs in the last three overs to guide New Zealand past 100-run mark. India, on the other hand, need to pile some pressure on the hosts in order to avoid them post a huge total. New Zealand 127/1 (12 overs)
100 comes up in the 11th over as Seifert also survives a chance in the outfield. Racing along with Williamson. LIVE scoring | https://t.co/Dbnn1dR7t6 #NZvIND = @PhotosportNZ pic.twitter.com/VO8nNszTSb
— BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) February 6, 2019
# Skipper Kane Williamson comes to bat at No.3!
# Wicket! After bowling two expensive overs, Krunal Pandya has finally managed to provide a much-needed breakthrough to India by departing Munro for 34 runs. The New Zealander, who was looking solid at the crease, lifted a good delivery from the Indian bowler up to the long on but ends up getting more height than the distance to hand Vijay Shankar a simple catch. New Zealand 88/1 (9 overs)
Fast start at @WestpacStadium before Colin Munro departs for 34 off 20 with the score 86/1 in the 9th. Seifert reaches 50 two balls later! LIVE scoring | https://t.co/Dbnn1dR7t6 #NZvIND = @PhotosportNZ pic.twitter.com/5Sxp9miHDs
— BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) February 6, 2019
# 22 runs off the last two overs. Seifert sweeps the second delivery from Krunal over backward square leg for a six. He then pulled back two boundaries in the next over by first guiding a slower delivery from Hardik Pandya towards the sweeper cover before playing a reverse sweep for another four as he and Munro bring up a half-century stand for the opening wicket. New Zealand 66/0 (6 overs)
# Krunal Pandya comes into the attack!
# Runs are flowing in at a good pace for the hosts as they have added another 16 runs in the fourth over. Munro once again smashed Khaleel Ahmed for two back-to-back sixes. The New Zealand opener first picked up a slower ball from Ahmed and hit it over the midwicket fence before he guided the ball to the square of the wicket. New Zealand 44/0 (4 overs)
# India had very expensive last two overs, conceding a total of 24 runs to the home side. Khaleel Ahmed was first smashed by two back-to-back boundaries from Munro before Bhuvneshwar Kumar gave away 15 runs to New Zealand in the third over, including a boundary and the first six of the match. New Zealand 28/0 (3 overs)
# New Zealand made a decent start to their innings, scoring four runs off the first over. Seifert gets off the mark by scoring a single in the third delivery from Kumar before Munro fended away the next delivery to midwicket for one run. New Zealand 4/0 (1 over)
# Colin Munro and Tim Seifert are all set to begin New Zealand's innings. Bhuvneshwar Kumar to start the proceedings for India.
# The two sides have walked down the crease for the national anthems!
# Rishabh Pant and Krunal Pandya, who missed the recently-concluded five-match ODI series against New Zealand, have returned to the Playing XI for the opening T20I.
# Lineups:
India XI: Rohit Sharma (capt), Shikhar Dhawan, Rishabh Pant, Vijay Shankar, Dinesh Karthik, MS Dhoni (wk), Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Khalil Ahmed
New Zealand XI: Tim Seifert (wk), Colin Munro, Kane Williamson (capt), David Mitchell, Ross Taylor, Colin de Grandhomme, Mitchell Santner, Scott Kuggeleijn, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Lockie Ferguson
# Indian skipper Rohit Sharma has won the toss and opted to bowl first!
India win the toss & elect to bowl first in the opening T20I at @WestpacStadium in Wellington. #NZvIND pic.twitter.com/87aUVbJa8O
— BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) February 6, 2019
Having sealed a five-match ODI series against New Zealand by a 4-1 margin, India will look to continue their momentum when they take on the Kane Williamson-led side in the three-match T20I series, beginning at the Westpac Stadium on Wednesday.
India will be without their regular skipper Virat Kohli, who was rested for the last two ODIs and the upcoming T20I series against New Zealand as a part of the Board of Control for Cricket in India's (BCCI) workload management.
Rohit Sharma, who led the Men in Blue in Kohli's absence in the last two ODIs, will continue to lead the charge and look to record their maiden T20I series win in New Zealand.
India had outplayed the hosts in all the departments in the first three ODIs before they slumped to a humiliating eight-wicket defeat in Hamilton. However, they bounced back in style to register a 35-run win in the fifth and final match in Wellington to claim the series.
Earlier on Tuesday, opener Shikhar Dhawan had said that India would look to end the tour on a high and carry on the momentum back home for the series against Australia later this month.
"We too are humans and our bodies need a bit of rest. Of course, we would be looking to win the series and carry the momentum back home for the Australia series," Dhawan had said.
As far as squads are concerned, former skipper and wicketkeeper-batsman Mahendra Singh Dhoni--who played his last T20I match in July--has been recalled into the national squad for the upcoming series.
While the visitors will also miss the services of rested pacer Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar will lead the pace attack alongside Siddarth Kaul, Khaleel Ahmed, Mohammad Siraj, and all-rounder Hardik Pandya.
For New Zealand, opener Martin Guptill has been ruled out after failing to recover fully from a back injury, which he sustained while throwing a ball during a training session on Saturday ahead of the final ODI.
As a result, all-rounder Jimmy Neesham has been added to the squad as a replacement for Guptill for the opening T20I against India at Westpac Stadium in Wellington on Wednesday.
Neesham seemed to have got the nod for the upcoming series against the Men in Blue on the back of his recent ODI performances.
While spinners Ish Sodhi and Mitchell Santner have also been added in the New Zealand squad, wicketkeeper Tim Seifert is likely to open the batting alongside Colin Munro in Guptill's absence.
The two squads are as follows:
India: Rohit Sharma(c), Shikhar Dhawan, Rishabh Pant, Dinesh Karthik, Kedar Jadhav, M.S. Dhoni, Krunal Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Siddarth Kaul, Khaleel Ahmed, Shubman Gill, Vijay Shankar, Hardik Pandya, Mohammad Siraj.
New Zealand: Kane Williamson (c), Doug Bracewell, Colin de Grandhomme, Lockie Ferguson, Scott Kuggeleijn, Colin Munro, Daryl Mitchell, Mitchell Santner, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Blair Tickner, James Neesham.
