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Wellington, February 6
A below-par India slumped to their worst ever defeat in T20 Internationals as New Zealand outclassed them in all departments to win the first match of the three-match series by a comprehensive 80-run margin here today. Batting first, the unheralded wicketkeeper-batsman Tim Seifert took the Indian bowling apart, blasting 84 off just 43 balls as New Zealand posted a commanding 219/6.
With the crack opening pair of skipper Rohit Sharma (1) and Shikhar Dhawan (29) back in the hut within the Powerplay overs, the chase never took off and India were all out for 139 in 19.2 overs. MS Dhoni offered some resistance with a gritty 39 but the veteran wicketkeeper’s effort went in vain as wickets tumbled regularly at the other end.
India had never lost a T20 International by 50 or more runs prior to this match. India’s previous worst was a 49-run loss against Australia in 2010. “We failed to get a good partnership. 220 was never going to be easy to chase,” Rohit said after the match.
Kiwi bowlers right on money
The New Zealand bowlers kept up the pressure on the Indian batsmen, especially the two spinners — left-arm Mitchell Santner (2/24) and leg-spinner Ish Sodhi (2/26). Senior pacer Tim Southee (3/17) returned the best figures of the match. On a pitch where Indian spinners Yuzvendra Chahal (1/35) and Krunal Pandya (1/37) went for plenty, the Black Caps’ slow bowlers kept the Indian batsmen on a tight leash.
Pant fails
Rishabh Pant (4), the World Cup aspirant, didn’t do his chances any good. The attacking left-hander looked all at sea during his brief stay before Santner ended his misery. Vijay Shankar (27 off 17 balls) impressed during his little cameo but would need to do more in order to book a place in that World Cup-bound squad. The Pandya bothers — Krunal and Hardik — endured an ordinary day. Hardik, in particular, would quickly like to forget the nightmare (2/51 in 4 overs and 4 runs) before India play the second match of the series in Auckland on Friday.
Seifert assault
Earlier, Seifert, whose previous T20I best was 14, added 86 runs in just 8.2 overs with Colin Munro for the first wicket. Seifert smashed seven fours and half-a-dozen sixes, setting the tone for a big total. There weren’t any signs of overt footwork but he shuffled enough inside the crease to make room for the big shots. — PTI
Scoreboard
NEW ZEALAND
Runs Balls 4s 6s
T Seifert b Ahmed 84 43 7 6
C Munro c Shankar b K Pandya 34 20 2 2
K Williamson c H Pandya b Chahal 34 22 0 3
D Mitchell c Karthik b H Pandya 8 6 1 0
R Taylor c Ahmed b Bhuvneshwar 23 14 0 2
C de Grandhomme c Sub b H Pandya 3 4 0 0
M Santner not out 7 4 1 0
S Kuggeleijn not out 20 7 3 1
Extras: (LB-1, W-5) 6
Total: (For 6 wkts, 20 overs) 219
FOW: 1-86,2-134, 3-164, 4-164, 5-189, 6-191
Bowling O M R W
Bhuvneshwar Kumar 4 0 47 1
Khaleel Ahmed 4 0 48 1
Krunal Pandya 4 0 37 1
Hardik Pandya 4 0 51 2
Yuzvendra Chahal 4 0 35 1
INDIA
Runs Balls 4s 6s
R Sharma c Ferguson b Southee 1 5 0 0
S Dhawan b Ferguson 29 18 2 3
V Shankar c de Grandhomme b Santner 27 18 2 2
R Pant b Santner 4 10 0 0
MS Dhoni c Ferguson b Southee 39 31 5 1
D Karthik c Southee b Sodhi 5 6 0 0
H Pandya c Mitchell b Sodhi 4 4 1 0
K Pandya c Seifert b Southee 20 18 1 1
B Kumar c Seifert b Ferguson 1 3 0 0
Y Chahal b Mitchell 1 3 0 0
K Ahmed not out 1 1 0 0
Extras: (LW-3, W-3, NB-1) 7
Total: (All out in 19.2 overs) 139
FOW: 1-18, 2-51, 3-64, 4-65, 5-72, 6-77, 7-129, 8-132, 9-136
Bowling O M R W
Tim Southee 4 0 17 3
Scott Kuggeleijn 2 0 34 0
Lockie Ferguson 4 0 22 2
Mitchell Santner 4 0 24 2
Daryl Mitchell 2.2 0 13 1
Ish Sodhi 3 0 26 2
Man of the Match: Tim Seifert