New Delhi, Nov 1:
India finally tasted success against the team that has been their Achilles heel for long in this format when they outplayed butter-fingered New Zealand by 53 runs in the first Twenty20 International here tonight.
At the end of the lopsided game that was also veteran seamer Ashish Nehra’s last in competitive cricket, hosts India sauntered to a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
Fittingly, Delhi players Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan carried Nehra on their shoulders after the win. This was India’s first win against the Kiwis in six T20 outings. New Zealand innings ended at 149 for eight.
The game was marked by openers Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma’s blazing half-centuries, during which they produced an Indian record of 158-run partnership to power the team to a formidable 202 for three, and Nehra’s last waltz, of course.
And, any attempt to decorate with superlatives Hardik Pandya’s catch to dismiss Martin Guptill, would be an understatement.
When India batted, both Dhawan and Sharma were dismissed after scoring 80 runs, before skipper Virat Kolhi (26 not out off 11 balls) and Mahendra Singh Dhoni (7 not out) guided India past 200 with their power hitting.
Set a daunting target of 203 in the allotted 20 overs, New Zealand were off to a poor start as they lost Guptill in the second over.
It was a stunner from Pandya, who sprinted from long-off into what looked like a no man’s land and pulled off the unbelievable catch with a full-length dive and outstretched hands, and a slide that continued for a while even after the ball was in his safe hands.
Starting the proceedings for India with the ball, Nehra came close to picking up a wicket in his farewell game, but Pandya could not latch on to this one after making a valiant attempt running backwards from cover.
Eventually, Nehra, also bowling the day’s final over, returned respectable figures of none for 29 in his four-over spell. Not able to control his emotion, an excited fan of his entered the ground to touch Nehra’s feet. (PTI)
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