Team India demolished the unwanted record of having never previously defeated the Blackcaps in a T20 International when they won the first match of the 3-match T20I series by 53 runs at the Ferozeshah Kotla in Delhi. The home team made the visitors rue their decision of opting to chase; Team India made 202-3 batting first and then strangled the visitors, restricting them to 149-8.
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Put in to bat, Team India were off to a steady start with the openers adding 46 runs in the first six overs. The opening pair made the Kiwis pay for their largesse of dropping catches; the partnership blossomed as Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan remained unseparated until the 17th over.
Before Dhawan was dismissed for 80 (made from 52 balls and decorated with 10 fours & 2 sixes), his association with Rohit Sharma benefited the team to the extent of 158 runs – India’s highest opening partnership in T20Is. Dhawan clearly dominated the partnership, particularly early on, giving Rohit time to settle in.
At the half-way mark, Dhawan was 47 and Rohit had 25 from 28 balls. That was when Rohit decided to switch gears; he then scored 27 off the next 14 balls, bringing up his half-century by depositing Mitchell Santner into the stands. He would then add a further 28 runs in 13 deliveries before he too was dismissed for 80. During the course of his knock, Rohit Sharma would surpass Suresh Raina’s record of being the Indian batsman with the most sixes in T20 cricket; Rohit now has 268 sixes in the 20-over format.
Virat Kohli’s brief cameo (26 not out from 11 balls) – during which he creamed 3 sixes and MS Dhoni’s 2-ball 7 not out saw India breach the 200-run mark.
In the second half, clever utilisation of resources by Virat Kohli, and some excellent skill shown by the bowlers saw Team India restrict the visitors to 149-8. At no stage did New Zealand have any momentum in their run-chase. The visitors made 33-2 in the powerplay overs, lost their way in the middle overs – losing 4 wickets for 62 runs between overs 7 & 15, and added 54-2 in the final five overs.
On a dewy night, the two spinners – Yuzvendra Chahal and Axar Patel – returned excellent figures of 2-26 and 2-20 from their respective four overs. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya picked up a wicket apiece. Ashish Nehra, playing his final game in India colours, bowled well and created a few opportunities, to finish with respectable figures of 4-0-29-0.
Now as Ashish Nehra starts his life without cricket, the Indian team move on from here for the second T20 in Rajkot this Saturday.
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