3 greatest India vs New Zealand T20Is ever

Team India are currently in New Zealand for a white-ball tour comprising three T20Is and as many ODIs. The series comes on the back of their semi-final exit at the recently concluded T20 World Cup in Australia.

While the opening T20I was washed out without a ball being bowled, the two teams will contest the second T20I at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui on Sunday, November 20. The two sides have played one T20I at the venue, with the Men in Blue coming up trumps by seven runs.

Both India and New Zealand have contested quite a few fascinating duels in times gone by. In the men's T20Is, the head-to-head reads nine wins apiece, while the Men in Blue have also won the Super Over in two other tied contests.

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Let's take a look at the three best T20I contests between India and the Blackcaps over time.

#3 Super Over finish in Wellington, 2020

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On the back of a Super Over defeat to India in Hamilton, the wounded Kiwis reached the Sky Stadium in Wellington, having already conceded the five-match series in 2020. Their bowlers were all over the Men in Blue as Ish Sodhi spun a web to reduce them to 88/6.

Manish Pandey led the fightback in the company of Shardul Thakur and remained unbeaten on 50 off 36 deliveries. Even as India posted a competitive 165/8, it looked well below a par total. The Kiwis then rode on half-centuries from Colin Munro and Tim Seifert to boss the chase for large swathes until their run-outs threw a spanner into their work.

With 22 needed off 23 deliveries, it should have been a stroll in the park for New Zealand. However, they huffed and puffed, with Thakur leading the way in the death overs. With two needed off the last delivery, Mitchell Santner was run out trying to complete the second, taking the game to another Super Over.

Jasprit Bumrah kept New Zealand down to 13 in the Super Over before Tim Southee lost the plot while trying to defend it. KL Rahul hit a six and a four first up before skipper Virat Kohli held his nerve to take the visitors past the finish line.

#2 Run-fest at Hamilton in 2019

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With the three-match T20I series level at 1-1, India and New Zealand reached Hamilton's Seddon Park with everything to play for in early 2019. Having been asked to bat first, Munro's 72 and a string of brisk contributions saw the hosts pile up 212/4 in their 20 overs.

India lost Shikhar Dhawan early but Vijay Shankar's swift 28-ball 43 put the chase on track, even as skipper Rohit Sharma struggled for impetus at the other end. Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya played blazing cameos themselves but a quick collapse saw the visitors slip from 141/3 to 145/6, leaving the game in limbo.

Dinesh Karthik and Krunal Pandya didn't back away though as they took the game deep. With 48 needed off three overs, a string of boundaries brought it down to 16 needed off the last over with Southee entrusted with closing it out.

Surprisingly enough, Karthik farmed the strike off the third delivery and denied Krunal a single, although it didn't work in his favor. New Zealand eventually hung on for dear life by four runs and scraped through to a 2-1 series win.

#1 Super Over finish in Hamilton, 2020

With India taking a 2-0 lead in the five-match series, the Blackcaps had the series on the line in Hamilton in 2020. Rohit's pristine 40-ball 65 led the visitors' charge, while Kohli chipped in with 38 off 27 deliveries. Despite losing their way, a late charge from Pandey and Ravindra Jadeja saw India post 179/5.

Martin Guptill took off in the powerplay before skipper Kane Williamson took charge of the chase for New Zealand. In what was a masterclass in constructing a chase, he single-handedly put the Kiwis on course for a win with Bumrah taking a pasting.

Mohammed Shami, though, dismissed Williamson for 95 and bowled Ross Taylor off the last delivery to tie the game. The New Zealand skipper did the needful in the Super Over as well, leaving the visitors with 18 runs to get.

Just eight runs came off the first four deliveries off Southee but with 10 runs needed off two deliveries, Rohit clouted a couple of length deliveries over the fence before the Indian team, led by Kohli, charged onto the ground in celebration.

New Zealand, on the back of two Super Over defeats in 2019, didn't cross the finish line again and would suffer the same fate a couple of days later.

What is your favorite memory from India-New Zealand contests in T20Is? Let us know in the comments section below!

Also read: 3 reasons why Hardik Pandya should bat at No. 4 for India going forward in T20Is