Hardik Pandya’s men put an astounding bowling performance on display against New Zealand in the third T20I on Tuesday in Napier. After being out to bowl first, the Men in Blue bundled out the Kiwis for 160 in 19.4 overs. Pacers Mohammed Siraj (4/17) and Arshdeep Singh (4/37) shared 8 wickets among each other while Harshal Patel returned figures of 1/28.
New Zealand had a few hiccups at the beginning of the innings as they lost Finn Allen (3) and mark Chapman (12) inside the powerplay. But the situation was taken care of by Devon Conway and Glenn Phillips with an 86-run stand for the third wicket. Both of them notched their half-centuries but their innings were cut short by the Indian pacers. Phillips fell in the 15th over while Conway walked back in the 17th, and these two dismissals certainly gave the Indians access to raid on the New Zealand batting line-up.
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Arshdeep came in to bowl the penultimate over and scalped two Kiwi wickets – Daryll Mitchell and Ish Sodhi – on consecutive deliveries. He missed out on a hat-trick chance but Siraj’s direct throw helped India bag three wickets in a row.
New Zealand captain Tim Southee defended a slower yorker, but Adam Milne rushed for a single from the non-striker’s end. The latter was sent back and he slipped while turning. It gave Siraj all the time to execute his throw which turned out to be a direct hit. Milne was caught short of his crease and India completed a team hat-trick.
Opting to bat first, New Zealand were going strong at 130 for two in the 16th over but the duo of Arshdeep (4/37) and Siraj (4/17) led a remarkable comeback to end the Kiwi innings with two balls to spare. The hosts lost eight wickets for just 30 runs after Devon Conway (59 off 49 balls) and Glenn Phillips (54 off 33) had propped up their innings.
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As many as 31 runs came from over number 12 and 13, before Phillips smoked Harshal Patel over deep square leg for another maximum. However, Phillips got a top edge against Siraj and Buvneshwar took the catch in the deep in what was a massive breakthrough for the tourists.
(With PTI Inputs)
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