KOLKATA, Nov 21: Rohit Sharma batted in style and led with panache to script a near perfect tale on his full-time captaincy debut as India handed T20 World Cup runners-up New Zealand the ignominy of a 3-0 series defeat after a 73-run win in the third T20 International here today.
The Indian skipper first made a statement scoring 56 off 31 balls in India’s 184 for 7 and then made some immaculate captaincy calls which witnessed New Zealand’s surrender for a paltry 111 runs in 17.2 overs.
It was a second back-to-back bilateral T20I series triumph with a clean sweep for India after beating the Black Caps 5-0 in their own den in 2020.
Axar Patel (3/9) bowled accurately and also got one to turn as his three wickets in Powerplay literally ended New Zealand’s resistance and the rest was a mere formality.
The New Zealand team looked bone tired after a gruelling T20 World Cup campaign and the result won’t be a fair reflection of the team’s capabilities as they went through the motions for the better part of the three games.
For India, who were aiming to reset the button, the series win will certainly give them a few pointers going forward.
For Rohit and head coach Rahul Dravid, this series was about checking what kind of ammunition they have going forward.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Ravichandran Ashwin’s return to form in white ball cricket augurs well as there is no substitute for experience.
Venkatesh Iyer has shown potential and needs to be persisted with. He bowled steadily and needs more game time to become a middle-order enforcer having been a top-order player.
Harshal Patel is a welcome addition with his sincere efforts but the middle order still remains a bit iffy as it didn’t perform up to expectation in any of the games.
A few like Ruturaj Gaikwad and Avesh Khan went untested but the skipper will surely use all his options going forward.
But what he has shown like his predecessor Virat Kohli is ability to walk the talk with performances that his mates will look up to.
When India batted, Rohit’s imperious form was on full display as he laid the platform for an above par score.
In his bid to test the team’s character by batting first, the skipper led the way with five fours and three sixes in his sublime knock but despite a blazing start, the Indians stuttered in the middle overs before Harshal Patel (18 off 11 balls) and Deepak Chahar (21 not out off 8 balls) used their long handles which fetched 50 runs in last five overs.(PTI)
Scoreboard
India
Rohit Sharma c & b Sodhi 56
Ishan Kishan c Seifert b Santner 29
Suryakumar Yadav c Guptill b Santner 0
Rishabh Pant c Neesham b Santner 4
Shreyas Iyer c Mitchell b Milne 25
Venkatesh Iyer c Chapman b Boult 20
Axar Patel not out 2
Harshal Patel hit wicket b Ferguson 18
Deepak Chahar not out 21
Extras: (B-2 LB-1 W-6) 9
Total: (For 7 wickets in 20 overs) 184
Fall of Wickets: 1/69 2/71 3/83 4/103 5/139 6/140 7/162
Bowling: Trent Boult 4-0-31-1, Adam Milne 4-0-47-1, Lockie Ferguson 4-0-45-1, Mitchell Santner 4-0-27-3, Ish Sodhi 4-0-31-1.
New Zealand
Martin Guptill c Suryakumar b Chahal 51
Daryl Mitchell c Harshal Patel b Axar 5
Mark Chapman st Pant b Axar 0
Glenn Phillips b Axar 0
Tim Seifert run out (Ishan Kishan/Pant) 17
James Neesham c Pant b Harshal Patel 3
Mitchell Santner run out (Ishan Kishan) 2
Adam Milne c Rohit b Venkatesh Iyer 7
Ish Sodhi c Suryakumar b Harshal Patel 9
Lockie Ferguson c and b D Chahar 14
Trent Boult not out 2
Extras: (w 1,) 1
Total: (10 wkts, 17.2 Ov) 111
Fall of Wickets: 21-1, 22-2, 30-3, 69-4, 76-5, 76-6, 84-7, 93-8, 95-9, 111-10
Bowling: Bhuvneshwar Kumar 2-0-12-0, Deepak Chahar 2.2-0-26-1, Axar Patel 3-0-9-3, Yuzvendra Chahal 4-0-26-1, Venkatesh Iyer 3-0-12-1, Harshal Patel 3-0-26-2.
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