With the series clinched, Hardik Pandya-led India will be eager to register a win against New Zealand in the third and final T20I to be played at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch on Wednesday. To be honest, the young brigade could not have asked for a better start to their New Zealand tour. If you ask us to describe India’s performance, all we can say is – they came, they played, and they won.
Indian team’s new look was clinical [to say the least] In the second match. Now, a win in the third T20I will not only help the Hardik Pandya-led side seal the T20I series but will also give them the much-awaited whitewash against New Zealand. Oh, and it will be interesting to see if there are any changes in India’s playing XI. Everyone including us is excited about the final match. Especially after Suryakumar Yadav’s blistering knock in the last game.
Suryakumar Yadav and Deepak Hooda produced sensational performances to register a comfortable win over New Zealand in the second T20 match on Sunday. Surya hit his second international century and Hooda recorded impressive figures of 4/10 as India won by 65 runs. Fans are expecting a similar show from the ‘Men in Blue’ in the upcoming encounter.
Suryakumar Yadav came out to bat when India’s score was 1 for 36. He started playing incredible shots from the start as always and ended up scoring 111 runs in just 51 balls. The sky is certainly not the limit on our own. Don’t you agree? The Mumbai-born batsman, who is known for his 360-degree approach, hit 11 fours and seven sixes in the final encounter. His power-packed knock helped India reach a defendable total of 191.
New Zealand suffered an early blow during the run chase when their opener Finn Allen was sent packing off the second ball of the innings. New Zealand captain Kane Williamson put up a strong resistance and scored 61 off 52 balls but his contribution was not enough to avoid defeat. However, it was Deepak Hooda who was the hero of the Indian bowling. Hooda took four wickets and conceded only 10 runs after bowling 2.5 overs. And with this, the Haryana-born all-rounder registered the best bowling figures in a T20 match between India and New Zealand.
Yuzvendra Chahal and Mohammad Siraj took two wickets each to bundle out the Kiwi team for just 126 runs. place in the squad.
Indian fans and followers, ahead of the final clash, would also like Suryakumar to lead the attack and guide the ‘Men in Blue’ to a comprehensive series win. And, a strong team like New Zealand would like to make full use of this vulnerability in the final game to avoid a humiliating whitewash. This is probably the reason why skipper Hardik Pandya underlined the need for the other batsmen to perform.
“Everyone hit fours but it was definitely a special innings from Surya. We would have scored 170-175. The bowlers did well and it was about being aggressive in the mindset. It doesn’t mean taking wickets with every ball, but being aggressive with the ball is important. The conditions were very wet, so credit goes to the bowlers. I have bowled a lot and going forward I want to explore more bowling options. Not always it will work but I want more and more batsmen to contribute with the ball,” Pandya said after the second T20I.
Almost everyone would agree that Suryakumar Yadav is one of the deadliest batsmen in white-ball cricket. Those scoops, ramp shots and that little shuffle just before he hits, make him a delight to watch. Surya is scoring runs at will, playing shots all over the park and is living up to his reputation of being the best T20I batsman at the moment. Be it the slow pitches of the subcontinent or the bouncy wickets in Australia and New Zealand, Surya sticks to what he does best. It takes immense talent and courage to stick to your own gameplay and succeed in challenging situations on a regular basis.
“I’m enjoying batting like this, I’m doing the same thing in the nets, in all the practice sessions and outings.” [to the middle]All these things are happening, I am very happy with it,” was Suryakumar Yadav’s straight and simple reaction after scoring his second T20 century against the Kiwis on Sunday.
The stylist batsman’s direct response can never describe the incredibleness of his knock against New Zealand at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui. A deep dive into his numbers would speak volumes about the enormity of his brilliant knock. After India’s batting, Suryakumar Yadav revealed the strategy and why it is important to keep batting till the last ball of the innings.
He said, ‘A century is always special in T20 cricket. But it was also important for me to bat till the end, that’s Hardik [Pandya] was telling me from the other side. Just try and play till the 18th-19th over, we need 180-185, and really happy with the score on the board,” Surya said.
However, Suryakumar Yadav’s brilliance would have gone in vain had it not been for Deepak Hooda’s remarkable performance with the ball against Kane Williamson’s side on Sunday. Hooda became the first Indian bowler to take a four-wicket haul in T20I cricket against New Zealand. Overall, he is the fourth cricketer to do so after Daniel Vettori (4/20), Mitchell Santner (4/11) and Trent Boult (4/34).
After dismissing Ish Sodhi and Tim Southee in consecutive deliveries in the final over, Hooda came close to registering a hat-trick. Lockie Ferguson successfully tackled the next ball to prevent Hooda from completing another record.
Now the million dollar question – will the ‘Men in Blue’ be able to carry the winning momentum into the final encounter or will the Kiwis once again rise to the occasion and emerge as India’s nemesis?
All we can say is that we’ll soon find out.
Catch the T20 matches starting at 11:00 AM on 22nd November and the ODI matches on 25th, 27th and 30th November at 6:00AM. prime video
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