Tim Southee’s sorry form in Super Overs continued as India beat New Zealand in the 4th T20I, in Wellington on Friday 31 January, 2020 scaling down the 14-run target with a ball and a wicket to spare.
KL Rahul had struck a six and a four off the first two balls to virtually kill off the tie but he fell in the third ball of the Super Over before Virat Kohli finished things off in style — slamming a boundary off the fifth to help India take a 4-0 lead in the series.
New Zealand had put up 13/1 in the super over.
Tim Seifert, who had scored a cracking half-century in the match, was dismissed in the fourth ball of the Super Over after he picked up eight off the first three. He got two reprieves as Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul had dropped him in the first and third balls of the over.
Colin Munro, the other half-centurion, struck a boundary off the fifth ball before Bumrah eked out a dot off the final ball of the over.beat
The match had ended in a tie after New Zealand bottled up in an extraordinary fashion to score 165/7 in reply to India’s 165/8.
New Zealand required seven off the last over in the match before they lost four wickets to surrender in a hapless fashion.
Earlier, Tim Seifert and Colin Munro struck brilliant half-centuries but New Zealand still failed to cross the finishing line as they lost four wickets in the last over of the 4th T20I.
Set a modest total of 166, Munro anchored the chase initially for New Zealand after they lost Martin Guptill on the cheap. His 47-ball 64, laced with five boundaries and three sixes, helped the hosts stay on top throughout the course of the chase.
However, ghosts of the third T20I ignited once again as Taylor departed in the very first ball of the 20th over before Seifert was run out in the third ball. Requiring two off as many balls, and then one off one, New Zealand bottled up in a similar manner as they had in the third to send the match into super over.
Munro had fallen in the 12th over owing to a run-out — the odd occasion when Indian fielders weren’t sloppy on Friday — but Seifert continued the carnage as he brought up his second T20I half-century.
Owing to the duo’s knocks, New Zealand batsmen never required to do anything fancy but just stick to rotating the strike. Seifert and Ross Taylor had exactly followed the same protocol for the last three overs before digging their own grave in an uncanny fashion.
Indian pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah had helped India strike early as he dismissed Martin Guptill for just four runs but Munro took the bowling attack to the cleaners as he brought up his half-century off 38 deliveries.
His innings, laced with five boundaries and three sixes, swung the momentum in favour of the hosts who began on a cautious note, notching 21 off the first four overs.
Earlier, Manish Pandey anchored the innings for India scoring an unbeaten 50 off 36 deliveries as India put up 165/8 despite losing wickets as regular intervals.
Besides Pandey, Shardul Thakur’s 15-ball 20 and Navdeep Saini’s 9-ball 11 proved to be vital contributions as India crossed the 150-run mark after being reduced to 88/6 in the 12th over.
India had a terrible start as Sanju Samson, brought into the side replacing Rohit Sharma at the top of the order, fell in the very second over of the Indian innings. The young wicket-keeper batsman could only manage eight off five balls as he threw his wicket away with a rash shot off Scott Kuggeleijn.
Skipper Virat Kohli (11) then fell victim to a stunner from Mitchell Santner at cover before Shreyas Iyer (1) edged one behind off Ish Sodhi. KL Rahul, who was in good nick and struck a few glorious boundaries, thus failed to find assistance from the other end.
Rahul continued his onslaught with the bat. smashing three fours and two sixes. But his innings (39 off 26 balls) was cut short as he lofted one straight at deep mid-wicket off Sodhi as India lost their top four batsmen inside nine overs with 75 on the board.
The art of gifting wickets away continued as Shivam Dube (12) and Washington Sundar (0) also failed to make a mark — getting dismissed in the space of just eight balls.
Thereafter, Pandey took charge with the middle-order batsman relying on rotating the strike and not taking unnecessary risks. He struck just three boundaries but kept the scoreboard ticking with Thakur and Saini providing support lower down the order.
Earlier, New Zealand won the toss and opted to field first. In a major setback for the hosts, in-form skipper Kane Williamson was ruled out owing to an injury he suffered on his left shoulder during the third T20I in Hamilton.
Williamson is expected to be available for the final game of the series at Bay Oval in Mt Maunganui though. In his absence, Tim Southee donned the captain’s hat for the tie in Wellington.
With the series under their belt, India made a number of changes in the playing XI. Vice-captain Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja and Mohammed Shami were all handed a break with Sanju Samson, Washington Sundar and Navdeep Saini roped in as their replacements.
“For us as a side, it was a massive confidence booster. We have rested Rohit, Shami and Jadeja. Samson to open, Washington Sundar and Saini are in. Three exciting additions to the side,” said Kohli at the toss.
For New Zealand, Tom Bruce replaced the struggling Colin de Grandhomme while Daryl Mitchell came in for Williamson.
India lead the five-match series 3-0 and have already registered their first T20 series win in New Zealand, after winning the third T20 international via Super Over.
Williamson led his side from the front with the bat, scoring 95 off 48 balls, but was unable to take his team home as the match ended in a tie after regulation 20 overs.
In the Super Over, it was all about India’s Rohit Sharma, who hit two back-to-back sixes of the last two balls to chase down 18 runs in 6 balls.
Earlier, India registered two contrasting wins in the first two T20Is in Auckland. In the first encounter, India chased down 204 to win by six wickets while they bowled out the hosts for 132 before successfully chasing it down with seven wickets in hand.
Playing XI
India: Sanju Samson, Lokesh Rahul(w), Virat Kohli(c), Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah and Navdeep Saini
New Zealand: Martin Guptill, Colin Munro, Tom Bruce, Ross Taylor, Tim Seifert(w), Daryl Mitchell, Mitchell Santner, Scott Kuggeleijn, Tim Southee(c), Ish Sodhi and Hamish Bennett
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