3 Indian players who flopped in the 2nd T20I vs New Zealand
Team India secured their first win after their 2022 T20 World Cup exit, hammering New Zealand by 65 runs in the second T20I at Mount Maunganui on Sunday, November 20 to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
Suryakumar Yadav was the star of the show for the Men in Blue as he sent the Kiwi bowlers to all corners of the Bay Oval in his stunning unbeaten 111. Five bowlers were among the wickets as New Zealand managed only 126 all-out in response to the visitors' imposing 191/6.
However, others failed to deliver. Here are three Indian players who flopped in the second T20I against New Zealand.
#3 Shreyas Iyer
There were question marks over Shreyas Iyer's selection in the Indian playing XI for the second T20I. With Sanju Samson sitting out despite a good run of recent international form, Shreyas needed to justify his place in the side. Unfortunately, he managed only 13 runs before trodding on his own stumps.
Shreyas' intent was, as always, on full display. He danced down the track to smash Ish Sodhi down the ground off his first ball and was proactive at the crease, hitting the leg-spinner for a maximum over long-off as well. But the short-ball woes resurfaced once again, albeit without there even being a real bouncer.
As Shreyas faced up against Lockie Ferguson for the first time, he went deep in his crease in anticipation of the short ball. He nudged the delivery towards square leg, but his back leg disturbed the bails in a rather peculiar dismissal. The 27-year-old needs to step up if he's going to keep the likes of Samson out.
#2 Washington Sundar
Washington Sundar's return to the Indian T20I side following a spate of injuries has been watched closely, with the team desperating needing a reliable finger-spinner capable of serving them in the long run. The all-rounder's first outing of the series didn't go to plan, though.
Sundar walked in to bat with two balls left in the Indian innings, having seen Deepak Hooda and Hardik Pandya fail to get Suryakumar Yadav on strike. SKY was batting on an unbeaten 111 at the other end and was finding it all too easy to smash boundaries, and it would've been in the southpaw's best interests to get off strike, even if his partner would've got to face only one ball.
But Sundar went for a heave down the ground and holed out to long-on, handing Tim Southee his second T20I hat-trick. Only five runs were scored off the final over of India's innings, with Bhuvneshwar Kumar nudging a single off the last ball.
Sundar had the opportunity to make a mark with the ball but ended up bowling only two overs. His first went for 17 as two overpitched deliveries were taken for 10 runs by Kane Williamson, apart from a reverse-swept four from Devon Conway. The off-spinner had some respite in his next over, having Conway caught at deep square leg, but Glenn Phillips immediately smacked him for a four to the sweeper boundary.
Sundar wasn't needed with the ball again as Deepak Hooda helped himself to four wickets, including one in the middle-overs phase.
#1 Rishabh Pant
There's been a lot of talk about Rishabh Pant opening the batting, and a couple of small cameos have lent weight to the belief that his ideal role might be at the top of the order. But innings like the one he played in the second T20I against New Zealand won't bolster that theory.
Pant labored to 6 off 13 balls and hit only one boundary, that too off a misfield at mid-on. He couldn't nail the gaps and looked intent on heaving everything to the leg-side, a strategy the Black Caps found all too easy to counter with some defensive bowling plans. The southpaw eventually skied one off Lockie Ferguson in the sixth over, playing a bizarre shot that resembled a forehand slap but without any of the conviction.
Pant will probably get another chance in the series, but time's running out for the 24-year-old to justify his backing.